By BRIANNA ROBLES
Staff Writer
Everyone’s favorite company, Nike, the official NFL apparel sponsor, has made another boss move and I for sure am definitely here for it!
For the most part, everyone besides the racists, couldn’t be more proud that Nike has made Colin Kaepernick, the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign and gave him a multiyear deal.
The ad campaign is a picture of Kaepernick’s face with the quote “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Nike has offered to create apparel featuring the former 49ers quarterback as well as donate to his charity.
If you are unaware, Kaepernick has been under some scrutiny for some time now because of his nonviolent protest against systematic oppression in America.
Back in 2016, Kaepernick began his nonviolent protest during his San Francisco 49ers game as he sat and eventually started kneeling during the national anthem.
This caught the attention of the public and eventually he became a free agent because very few teams wanted to deal with the “controversy” that came with him kneeling for what was right.
Truthfully, I am so proud of Nike for not turning their back on Kaepernick in order to make a couple more dollars.
Think about it, who normally gets booked for big issues and campaigns? It’s usually the same people, but if not them, certainly not someone as controversial as Colin Kaepernick.
It would’ve been so easy to choose any other person to be the face of such a big ad campaign to celebrate their 30th year anniversary.
By choosing Kaepernick it shows Nike’s confidence in their brand as well as their what they stand for and represent.
A lot of big businesses sometimes hop on the bandwagon in hopes to gain popularity but that obviously was not the case for Nike.
Nike has been and will always be a huge brand, having many supporters and making billions of dollars. They had nothing to gain from this move and still decided to support and promote what is right.
Despite Nike’s sincerity, since the release of the ad, people have been giving their opinions and letting the world know (even though no one asked) that they strongly disagree with Nike and will stop supporting due to this very reason.
Haters of the campaign have posted videos of them burning their Nike gear and saying bashful things towards both Nike and Kaepernick.
This is probably one of the most ridiculous ways to “protest” against Nike, because the clothes have already been bought. It does not matter what you do with the items you purchased from the company, they still get paid.
It’s quite funny how stressed and hurt people are over Nike supporting someone who is fighting for what’s right.
I saw a post on Instagram that said “Imagine a shoe ad is more controversial than a school shooting” and it made me realize how off people’s priorities are.
Yes, Kaepernick kneeled for the anthem, but he wouldn’t have to if black people weren’t constantly fighting to be treated like human beings.
The Nike ad is not the problem and neither is Colin Kaepernick, the systematic oppression of black Americans is however, and I will continue to support anyone who realizes this and fights for the abolishment of it.
