Nike: "Just Do It" and stand up for what's right!
For years now, people have been complaining about the insignificance of NFL preseason games. The main argument has always been simple; they don’t count. This may very well be true, but there’s one particular preseason game, in recent years, that has been almost as (if not more) important than any other game.
On August 26, 2016, the San Francisco 49ers took to play the Green Bay Packers. Before every game, as always, the National Anthem is presented, and everyone usually stands and/or sings along. Everyone on this day followed suit except for Colin Kaepernick. As a silent protest, he decided to protest.
What exactly was he protesting? Here, he explains his reasoning.
However, it wasn’t until a veteran and former NFL player, Nate Boyer convinced him that sitting may be perceived as disrespect but kneeling may be the better option. From there the protest took off and people around the league/country began to join Kaepernick.
Regardless of his message/stance, Kaepernick was met with a lot of backlashes. He can thank Donald Trump for a lot of it after his remarks.
Ultimately, all of this cost Kaepernick and one of his teammates their job and have since been picked up by any teams. Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the league, which claimed the league had banded together to keep him out since he protested. This claim gained significant traction after arbitrator Stephen B. Burbank ruled that there was more than enough evidence to require a full hearing. Here’s where Nike stepped in.
On September 3, Nike and Kaepernick revealed that he would be the face of their "Just Do It" campaign, celebrating its 30th anniversary. The slogan is “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”.
Here's the ad below.
This was met with a lot of backlash as well, from people burning their gear to Trump chiming in once again.
Here are the current numbers for how Nike is doing, and they look to be doing just fine. Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, the backing from a company like Nike will help the cause.