Kaepernick: Just Do It

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The public controversy of September was the backlash against Nike’s decision to name Colin Kaepernick as the face of its new 30th-anniversary #JustDoIt campaign, revisiting the prominent issue of taking a knee during the national anthem.

Kaepernick, an American football quarterback, became a national figure when he started a controversy by kneeling on one knee, rather than standing, while the United States national anthem played before the start of the NFL game. According to NFL.com, “Colin Kaepernick described his behavior as a protest against racial injustice and political brutality in the United States which prompted varying negative and positive responses. Critics like President Donald Trump claimed that Kaepernick and other NFL players are disrespecting the flag and country. On the other hand, many of NFL players joined Kaepernick in kneeling.

The Nike ad is a black-and-white close-up of Kaepernick’s face with the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” referencing Kaepernick’s lawsuit against the NFL. The lawsuit was filed for allegedly conspiring to keep the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback out of the NFL league for the past two years over his protests.

When critics discovered the ad, they began calling for a Nike boycott, with some people destroying or donating their already purchased apparel and permanently removing their stock from the multi-billion dollar company. It even inspired some people to post videos and photos of them on platforms such as Twitter, destroying their apparel in a demonstration of their loyalty to their flag and country.

However, many, such as Twitter user @AJD_20, pointed out that destroying Nike goods that were already paid for doesn’t really hurt them and can inadvertently be advertising for the company.

Sophomore Jared Zhang, a football player himself, believes that Nike knew what it was doing when it decided to focus on Kaepernick for the ad, and the risk of a negative response was undoubtedly evaluated beforehand, which shows that the enterprise believed the criticism of centering Kaepernick in the advertisement was outweighed by the long-term attention the brand has received.

Twitter user @MrFilmkritik brings up the fact that Nike supplies game-day uniforms and sideline apparel for the NFL’s 32 teams as well as sponsors several colleges, not to mention brands owned by Nike such as Converse and Hurley. Will the boycott apply to them as well? Only time can tell.