Nike and Colin Kaepernick: The Political Rainstorm

Nike has always been a progressive company, but this was a statement unlike any other. Recently, Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign reached it’s 30 year anniversary. For this anniversary, Nike wanted to do something special. Their ad, featuring the extremely relevant Colin Kaepernick, has sparked some intense controversy leading some Nike gear owners to burning their Nike gear. This controversy started when Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, kneeled while the national Anthem rang out at Levi’s stadium in San Francisco. Even though that night was his preseason debut, it would not be the biggest story of the night.

Kaepernick was the first person to kneel, and from that moment on, many players across the league have started kneeling during the national anthem. This all has been in the light for quite some time, all stemming back to Colin Kaepernick. Not only is Colin Kaepernick seen as a controversial figure, he stands for a message that only a portion of Americans support. This may be a problem for Nike in the future, but for now, Nike is staying stable in their growth. Although Kaepernick is standing out in what he is doing, the NFL recently made a rule stating that if the players want to kneel during the National Anthem, the players that took part in the protest will be fined. This has led to teams staying in the tunnel or the locker room for the national anthem and has caused league wide tension. Even thought this controversy seems to be fueled by politics and belief, it may be fueled by profit.

An article from the LA times talked about the Nike strategy that went into making the 30th anniversary ad featuring Kaepernick. They argued that the Nike swoosh was seared into Kaepernick’s protest to target young consumers. At first glance, this may seem untrue, but knowing that Phil Knight, the co-founder of the company, invests heavily in the Republican party, who have been antagonizing Colin Kaepernick, shows us that everything here may not be what it seems. Nike has also been criticized for its use of sweatshops in Eastern countries. Many universities have pulled their ties with the massive company because of their use of these sweatshops.

Although the Company has been seen doing things that contradict their liberal message, what Nike did was surprising. They took a figure in society that stands for the injustice in America, and they blew him up. This ad has sparked massive media attention and widespread controversy. Whether or not Nike’s article was a positive or negative thing is debatable, but what Nike did was astonishing and had never been done before by such a mammoth of a company.