It’s the 30th anniversary of Nike’s “just do it” campaign, and every year the face of an admirable athlete is added to the sporting brand. This year, controversially, Colin Kaepernick has been added to the iconic motto. Who is he you may ask? A former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and the first NFL player in 2016 to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in America, to draw attention to police killings of African Americans and other issues. This, however, polarised opinions as Trump commented that it disrespected the American flag and military.
On Monday, Kaepernick tweeted a picture of his new Nike campaign, which has been debuted days before the first game of the NFL season on Thursday. Smart move Nike, very smart…
Whilst some have critiqued Nike’s actions, many athletes have praised the move such as Serena Williams I think every athlete, every human, and definitely every African-American should be completely grateful and honoured how Colin [is] doing so much more for the greater good,” she said at the weekend. GQ also named him “Citizen of the Year” in 2017, so it can’t be all bad, surely?
