On Monday, Nike unveiled an ad campaigncelebrating the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign, featuring Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began the practice of kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in 2016 and hasn’t played professionally since.
The ads, which feature a close-up of Kaepernick’s eyes and the text “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” immediately reignited the debate over the propriety of the protest. One side, led by President Trump, says that refusing to stand during the anthem is an insult to the nation, flag, military and veterans, while the other argues that the military fights for Kaepernick’s right to protest in the way he sees fit.
Alhough the debate has been raging for over two seasons and flares up just about every Sunday, this time was different because Nike, the biggest player in the athletic apparel game, was involved. Nike is the official apparel company of the NFL.
By Tuesday, boycott talk had begun, with Kaepernick critics burning or cutting up their Nike gear.
Sigh….In general, I’m not one to call for bans and boycotts over political differences. If a business like Ben & Jerry’s contributes to Democrats, so be it. If Democrats think In n Out is putting patty before country by donating to the GOP in California (ignoring the fact that they make equal contributions to Democrats) and call for a ban, well that’s just silly.
The only time I think a protest/boycott/ban may be in order to make a push-back statement is when a business or artist is very much “in your face” with their politics; when they make politics central to their messaging rather than their product or service.
When I watch football, I don’t do it to see politics playing itself out on the field.
Today, Nike shares fell, in wake of their “hard hitting” ad:
Absurd, embarrassing ad. How exactly is Kaepernick the face of someone who exemplifies sacrificing everything? Do you want to see the face of someone who’s sacrificed everything? Via Aye Chihuahua:
Pat Tillman suspended his NFL career and left his family to go serve in Afghanistan after 9/11, ultimately losing his life. He sacrificed everything for kith & kin; family and country.
Who else has made more of a sacrifice than Kaepernick?
Is Kaepernick really the face Nike wants to use to represent their company?
Nike claims to support Colin Kaepernick’s fight against oppression in America but most of their shoes are made in factories with terrible working conditions:
If you ever wondered what it would take to get the woke Social Justice Warrior crowd to loudly support a multinational corporation with nearly $35 billion in revenue in 2017; that pays its assembly line workers about 2.5 percent of production costs; that faces accusations that its factories bar independent inspections of working conditions; whose workers frequently faint from heat and exhaustion, and suffer wage theft, forced overtime, restrictions on their use of toilets, exposure to toxic solvents, and padlocked exit doors . . . well, apparently Colin Kaepernick is all that it takes.
Apparently the “it” in “just do it” is not urination, at least for those stuck on the assembly line making the sneakers, hats, and apparel. But very few people will be thinking of that sort of scandal when they hear the word “Nike” these days, thanks to this news:
Colin Kaepernick, the former N.F.L. quarterback who inspired a player protest movement but who has been out of a job for more than a year, has signed a new, multiyear deal with Nike that makes him a face of the 30th anniversary of the sports apparel company’s “Just Do It” campaign, Nike confirmed on Monday.
. . . Nike will produce new Kaepernick apparel, including a shoe and a T-shirt, and if the merchandise sells well, the value of the deal will rival those of other top N.F.L. players, according to people close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because Nike had not formally announced it.
Perhaps they’d care to put out a line of sockware that represents Kaepernick:
Nike will also donate money to Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” campaign.
That “Know Your Rights” campaign for America’s youth features statements such as, “You have a right to be free,” “You have a right to be healthy,” “You have a right to be safe.” Those are all noble sentiments that deserve to be honored, but you’ll have a harder time standing for those values when you wear a Fidel Castro shirt and publicly defend the Cuban dictator.
If only the poor folks stuck on the assembly line making that Kaepernick apparel for Nike had someone who was standing up for their rights!
Perhaps Nike can also add a pro-Castro and Che Kaepernick line of T-shirts as well:
Kaepernick has been lauded as this generation’s Rosa Parks. Muhammad Ali. His protest act has been compared to the black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
The Federalist Papers citing Tucker Carlson:
So they’re saying he raised the issue of racial discrimination in this country, as if it’s never been raised before.
Tucker said the historical problems of race in this country are known to all Americans and accused Kaepernick and his cronies of attacking the country and biting the hand that feeds them.
“This is an attack on the country,” he continued.
“It would be very different if he were saying ‘I’m protesting this politician or this policy or this specific person for doing this specific thing’ but no.
Sitting during the national anthem is a way of making a broad-based generalized and therefore impossible to rebut attack against the country that made him and Nike rich.”
“There’s something decadent about that. When the most successful people in your society hate this society you’ve a real problem,” Tucker concluded.
I found the above image here, accompanied by the following caption blurb:
In case anyone still cares about truth, this is where taking a knee came from. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag, or the armed forces, it is about the fight for freedom, fairness, and equality. Thank you, Martin Luther King, Jr.
No, I don’t believe this is quite accurate. It’s a distortion of the issue.
That photo was taken Feb. 1, 1965 in Selma, Alabama. The context:
shows King leading a prayer after a group of protesters were arrested during a march to the Dallas County Alabama courthouse. Around 250 people were arrested during the demonstration, which was part of a push to get African Americans in Selma registered to vote. Among those praying with King is Ralph Abernathy, a fellow minister and leader of the Civil Rights movement.
Those kneeling/protesting were not doing so during the playing of the National Anthem (during a sporting event).
Some stupid memes draw a comparison between Kaepernick and Tebow, crying hypocrisy that one is not accepted while the other embraced:
Again, Tebowing was not a gesture that occurred during the playing of the National Anthem. The context and circumstances between the two are quite different.
The reason Kaepernick gave for why he kneels during the National Anthem:
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told Steve Wyche of NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
I disagree with Kaepernick’s perception and perspective on whether or not there is a level of oppression and brutality against blacks that rises to the level of calling America out for racism. I actually feel like it’s mostly those who are crying out the loudest regarding racial animus who have set out country back, moreso than actual racists and white supremacists in America.
The whole issue is ridiculous, creating controversy and giving it life by feeding it so much undeserved attention.
Part of it isn’t really about disrespecting troops or not loving the country. Nor about cop (mis)treatment of blacks.
Kaepernick’s controversial kneeling died down until Trump stupidly had to weigh-in at a time when the issue had already peaked and waned. So then his tweet breathed new life into the issue; and part of the “disrespect” wasn’t so much about kneeling for Kaepernick’s original cause, but for showing push-back and defiance against Trump and the misguided belief that one needed to flex one’s 1st Amendment muscle.
In the first place, Kaepernick sitting during the national anthem is his right- he’s free to do so (unless an NFL rule required him, as an employee, to stand). But his reason is crap. Same with the kneeling. Why? Because even if I bought into the perception that blacks are overwhelmingly targeted by the police (issue is complicated and I do not want to make a long response even longer by getting into it here), the time and place for airing one’s personal politics should not be during the one ceremony that unites the country; otherwise, what’s to limit the act of protest to Kaepernick’s pet political protest? What’s to stop the next person to sit or kneel for any variety of pet political grievance? Abortion? Religious profiling? 2nd Amendment? Climate change? PETA? Fricken cripes….for just over one minute, can’t we all just stand together as one nation, in a show of solidarity? It is inappropriate, as a matter of decorum- not whether or not a citizen has the right- to stand as a show of respect to the flag. To not do so is a disrespect to societal manners. How are people expected to behave at weddings? At church? At a graduation ceremony? Would it be appropriate to take a knee due to injustices in the country and to make a symbolic political show to draw attention to yourself and your pet political peeve? Ram one’s belief down every guest’s throat because in public venues, the most appropriate time to draw attention to one’s cause is when it’s most inappropriate and profane.
Kaepernick’s defenders and cheerleaders want to make it a Constitutional rights issue- as if his 1st Amendment Right is in question. And some veterans will say they defended this right of his. And others will point out hypocrisy in that some people in the stands may not be entirely respectful during the playing of the National Anthem, talking or taking the moment to run off to the restroom. The thing is, they aren’t out on the field, on the job, making a political protest against the flag- and yes, it’s against the flag in the belief that what it represents isn’t being honored).
Kaepernick used to sit; but my understanding is that a green beret who wrote him an open letter and then talked to him, Nate Boyer, told him how kneeling may be a way to protest without being so disrespectful. I still feel it’s the wrong time and the wrong place. And I also think his reasons for doing so are wrong. I don’t think that makes him anti-American or anti-patriotic.. Nor do I think he hates all cops, even though he tastelessly and tactlessly wore socks with pigs dressed as cops. Kaepernick is just misguided and misled by media-driven propaganda and (mis)perception; and just like his supporters, including a business whose motto is “just do it”. Yes, just boycott Nike to make a statement they can hear (like the NFL is hearing, in regards to their ratings drop, which may be due to several factors, of which the National Anthem issue has to figure as one of them), until they come to their senses.
PolitiFact has a timeline history of the National Anthem and Kaepernick saga. WSJ has a history.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
If you are kneeling and not playing who needs expensive shoes, some made in China where workers make 22.5 cents an hour wages?
https://business.nmsu.edu/~dboje/nike/china.html
Possibly the worst business decision EVER, Get ready for those shoes to be sitting unpurchased on the 70% off rack.
Take a look at the other “name brands” and decide if you should be paying 100 or more bucks a pair.
Greenies should know just 16 cargo ships pollute more than all the cars in the WORLD.
How about a nice pair of New Balance https://www.unionlabel.com/shoes–boots.html
Thanks for doing this.
This will be the biggist mistake made by a buisness like with New Coke and Dick the Pricks Sporting Good BYE NIKE
UFC welterweight champ Colby Covington sums it all up nicely:
I don’t keep up with sportswear marketing much. Been buying New Balance sports shoes for the past few years simply because they are USA made. I might consider a pair of Nike in the near future.
@Ajay42302: Don’t forget to swing by In N Out, while you’re at it. 🙂
@DrJohn: Sorry I haven’t been doing more around here to take some of the workload off of ya. 🙂
Thanks for keeping the place running.
Kap is making $19 million a year and if you search for his “net worth 2018” the figure you get is a net worth of $20 million.
Sounds like he’s a real genius at handling money too, though maybe one of the figures is wildly in error.
Don’t get too excited about the boycott having a big effect. 56% of Nike profits come from foreign countries. China is the largest. Foreign countries won’t pay any attention to a boycott.
@Wordsmith: Aside from no In N Outs In my area, I’m not much pursuaded by late night toilet Tweeters. I do understand many are. It ultimately highlights their gullibility.
Oh, you mean Kaepernick won’t be donating all his salary to it? Why not? Trump donates HIS salary to worthy causes.
Kaepernick didn’t sacrifice anything. He was a washed up flash-in-the-pan that was benched. While he was pouting on the bench during the National Anthem, the came up with the idea to call his pout a “protest” against “police brutality”, most notably the Michael Brown case. Brown’s death and subsequent political usage by the left was a lie and sham of monumental proportions, so his protest is illegitimate, at best.
Blacks in Chicago don’t have any of those rights, but Kaepernick, like all other liberals, isn’t concerned about them.
These racists using racism as a political weapon promote the white supremacists’ agenda by validating the stereotypes the white supremacists base their prejudices on. Before these people, we could find almost no people that acted like white supremacists claimed blacks acted. But, no more.
Though it is still disrespecting the best among us in order to make the point that they do NOT respect or honor the United States or the opportunities they have been provided.
Kaepernick is the face of the spoiled, entitled liberal crybaby. Maybe Gerber can give him a spokesperson deal.
James Woods won the internet today with this:
Nike was “just do it.”
Today it is:
“Nike stock; just sold it.”
And, according to this chart, he wasn’t alone!
https://twitter.com/search?q=james%20Woods&src=tyah
Even Piers Morgan sees through all this:
All Kaepernick has sacrificed is whatever self esteem and honor he may have ever had.
Well, lookie here. Brennan and Ahmedinejad on the same team!
The #NFL season will start this week, unfortunately once again @Kaepernick7 is not on a NFL roster. Even though he is one of the best Quarterbacks in the league.#ColinKaepernick #NFL
— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) September 3, 2018
Sundance, at the Conservative Treehouse posits a much darker reason that Nike and Levi-Strauss are going with unpopular social justice warrior issues in their publicity campaigns.
They use communist China’s sweatshops and communist China fronts for NORTH KOREAN sweatshops.
In reality North Korea uses free labor from its hundreds of thousands of political prisoners.
China knows this.
Nike and Levi-Strauss know this.
To get their cash to liberal/globalist bedfellows these companies take a roundabout route that hides the North Korean connection.
Their money is laundered to Dems and globalists thru the diversion of Colin and BLM.
China’s policies are hidden and obfiscated by our focus on domestic lefty issues.
Friend, ex-teammate: Don’t invoke Pat Tillman’s name, image in Kaepernick controversy:
Tillman biographer Jon Krakauer:
Given that, I still think the meme holds true, whether used for political purposes or not. Pat sacrificed all. Kaepernick has not. That’s simply a statement of – How can I put this?- factual opinion? Or plain fact?
Tillman’s wife a year ago:
On another note:
‘American Sniper’ Widow Taya Kyle Reacts to Kaepernick’s Nike Campaign:
People on both sides of the political aisle always use veterans to support their political positions. Even on this issue. I constantly see veterans who are against Kaepernick’s form of political protest; and veterans who perceive it as a Constitutional-given, freedom of expression 1st Amendment right issue and claim, “I defended his right to protest”.
@Wordsmith: I don’t think anyone questions these people have a RIGHT to protest or say whatever they want. The one and only question is WHY do they feel it necessary to denigrate the flag, nation and military to carry out their protest? So, due to the forum in which they have decided to present their “protest”, it is also the right of every American to react in whatever way they feel appropriate and proper. These protester are offering their opinion of our country and we are offering our opinion of them.
Is this true?
@Deplorable me: If so Air Jordon collectibles just went up they wont be making anymore at Nike. If you have a pair keep them pristine stuff them, put them in the sealed package and smile.
@kitt: Actually, I have found out that story is false.
@Deplorable me: Comment #16
I thought I pretty much said the same in my post?
@Wordsmith: It should be emphasized. They can do whatever the league will allow them to do to cut their own throats and we can react in any way we feel is peacefully appropriate.
Beto O’Rourke, on NFL players taking a knee
Well said, sir.
@Greg: How about Beto on his criminal record or Soros backing?
@Deplorable Bill: Doesnt matter he has’nt a snowballs chance, unless you are listening to Rolling while Stoned
my daughter made the greatest sacrifice for her country. I have her coffin flag on my desk to remind me of the sacrifice she made
@MOS#8541: No one that hasn’t suffered the loss you have can understand, and certainly no overpaid, racist crybabies know what true sacrifice truly is.
I offer my sympathies for your loss and my gratitude for your daughter’s sacrifice.