NFL on Kaepernick’s Nike ad: ‘Social justice issues ... deserve our attention’
Just days before the start of the NFL season, the debate over protests during the national anthem remain front and center.
That’s because former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was chosen for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, setting off reactions from people who loved it or hated it.
In October, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL, saying there is an effort to keep him out of the league because of his protests during the national anthem that began during the 2016 season.
The Washington Post reported that Nike, whose apparel contract with the NFL runs through 2028, didn’t give the league advance notice of Kaepernick’s involvement in the campaign.
Jocelyn Moore, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications and public affairs, released this statement Tuesday: “The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity. We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities.
“The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”
Kaepernick’s inability to find a job in the NFL was the basis of the tag line for the Nike ad: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
That is one reason why the National Association of Police Organizations called for a boycott of Nike gear. The NAPO says Kaepernick disrespected the flag, claims police are racist and the ad’s “sacrificing everything” sentiment is over the line.
“To truly understand what it means to ‘believe in something’ and ‘sacrifice everything’, you should look to Arlington National Cemetery, or to the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C., or to the trauma unit of a military hospital,” the organization said in a news release
People took to Twitter to show they were destroying their Nike gear or throwing it away.
Some athletes, however, showed support for Kaepernick, including the Lakers’ LeBron James, Chargers offensive lineman Russell Okung and tennis star Serena Williams.
This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 3:34 PM.