Caelin Bragg
Advertising & Distribution Manager
“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” is the slogan of Nike’s new ad campaign in cooperation with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick came under heavy fire in 2016 after he began protesting injustice towards the African-American community in the United States. by sitting and later kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games, which some took as an attack on the flag and the military. Kaepernick left the 49ers and has been a free agent since March 2017.
“I’m a huge 49ers fan, so I grew up watching [Kaepernick] play quarterback for [them],” Bryce Hirayama, freshman and student sports media member, said. “So growing up in California, I watched him a lot, and eventually me and my friend had season tickets, so we would go to the game, and I went to the first game where he took the knee.”
The move by Nike to use Kaepernick as the face of their new ad campaign has brought criticism and praise from spectators. Some are praising Nike for standing in solidarity with the African-American community, while others have shown their disapproval on social media by boycotting Nike and filming themselves burning their Nike apparel.
“I just feel like it’s ignorant,” Kylan Jones, sophomore student football coach, said. “I don’t see what the problem is with Nike letting him be the face of the campaign … Instead of them burning their Nikes, why not donate them to fallen soldier’s families and veterans?”
Kaepernick’s biggest critic is President Donald Trump, who called Kaepernick a “son of a bitch” and asked if the crowd would love it if he was fired at a campaign rally in 2017, and he has weighed in on the new wave of controversy.
“Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts,” President Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday, Sept. 5. “I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!”
Some have taken issue with the attacks on Kaepernick and the calls for him to be fired saying it is his First Amendment right to be able to peacefully protest in a movement he believes strongly in.
“I’m completely in support of the #MeToo movement, I think that’s protected by the First Amendment,” Jeffrey Tymony, professor of criminal justice and behavioral science, said. “I also think the Black Lives Matter movement is protected by the First Amendment. No matter what you think about it personally, it’s protected. Just like it was protected for them to go to Charlottesville with AK-47s and in riot gear. That was protected and supported by the president of the United States. So the issue becomes where you sit depends on where you stand.”
Despite the boycotts, according to NBC News, Nike’s sales are up 31 percent since before the ad campaign started.
“I have no problem with [Kaepernick taking the knee] because he clarified it wasn’t disgraceful towards the military,” Hirayama said. “I feel like, as a player, you don’t have much you can do to gain attention other than you speaking out yourself. People can ignore words, they can’t ignore action.”