For the company’s 30th anniversary of ‘Just Do It,’ Nike made Colin Kaepernick the face of their company. Nike added to its number of slogans with one for Kaepernick; ‘Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.’

Most people do not have strong opinions about this new Nike advertisement. To freshman Sarah Rosewater and many others, the advertisement has no effect; “It’s just a clothing brand.” However, those who do have negative opinions have gotten the media’s attention by burning and defacing Nike products and posting the images and recordings online. They are doing this because of Kaepernick’s actions when he played in the NFL. Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem while the game was being broadcasted worldwide. Senior Grace Stretz says that “people feel that it conveys disrespect toward the military and veterans.” Stretz also says that a main reason that people are posting about this with negative attitudes toward Nike is because Kaepernick used national television as a platform to share his belief and that they too want to be able to have an influence beyond face to face conversations.

The president of the NFL, Roger Goodell, made a statement that if any players refuse to take part in the national anthem, they will no longer be allowed to play in the NFL.  President Donald Trump even made a statement about the NFL players refusing to participate in the national anthem. The Washington Post says he suggested that the owners of NFL teams fire the players “because that’s a total disrespect of our heritage.” The Post also says that Trump tried to persuade the team owners to fire the players because it would bring them so much fame as a team owner who took action. However, the players have a right not to take part in the national anthem. The national anthem is a symbol for patriotism in the United States, but as senior Haleem Mady II puts it, “There are two types of patriotism.” By saying this, he means that every person has the right to be patriotic and that can mean taking part in the national anthem and supporting it, but it can also mean you can be patriotic by not participating and disagreeing. Mady says that, “it’s your right to agree and disagree. That’s what America is based on.”

These postings of defaced Nike products have had a large benefit for Nike’s sales. According to CNBC, Nike’s sales have increased by about 30 percent, in the past three weeks, while last year the company’s sales decreased. Nike even logged their stocks at a record high for the past 53 years. Despite it being people’s negative opinions about the company, it is still making Nike a topic of conversation and for the majority who do not feel affected by this, they would go to the name brand for apparel. Junior Braden Sunderland believes that Nike is willing to have media attention because “a brand like Nike thrives on advertising more than anything” and putting their name out there is huge opportunity for the spotlight to on them.

This is a bold statement for Nike because it brings the country further into the preexisting debate about police brutality. It shows that Nike, as a whole, has a belief that upsets large numbers of their customers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but that does not mean that Nike wants people denouncing them as customers because they disagree with their decision to support Kaepernick and his fight against police brutality and for the empowerment of individuals. Vox believes that Nike chose to do this because the potential benefits they predicted were way more important than the risks of involving Kaepernick.

This does not mean that Nike is expanding into the realm of politics or even with leaning the company to a more liberal perspective. Nike is making a statement that being a great athlete is not always enough. The Washington Post describes these events as Nike’s way of saying that it is what athletes do in and out of their sports. It is about who they are, not how fast they can run or throw.

Sophomore Mason Stewart along with many others do not believe that Kaepernick will return to the NFL, even if he was given an offer from a team. Kaepernick’s NFL career ending does not mean he is out of the spotlight. In his case, this is a huge gain for his movement and even more media. It gives his protest and movement lots of attention from the media and he is now receiving funding from one of the world’s biggest apparel companies.

Kaepernick may not have any more appearances in the NFL as a professional player. However, he will have a lasting impact. The Washington Post says that his new commercial with Nike “will air dur­ing the tel­e­cast of the first game of the NFL regu­lar sea­son Thurs­day.”