Apparel giant’s deal with football star stirs debate
An endorsement deal between Nike and Colin Kaepernick prompted a flood of debate yesterday as sports fans reacted to the apparel giant backing an athlete known mainly for starting a wave of protests among NFL players of police brutality, racial inequality and other social issues.
The deal unveiled by Nike and the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was a trending topic on Twitter and other social networks, with some fans urging a boycott of the company’s clothes and sneakers – even burning and cutting out the signature swoosh logos on their gear.
Others pushed back, saying the backlash against Nike showed the polarising debate has morphed well beyond whether NFL players should be allowed to demonstrate for social causes while the national anthem plays in stadiums before games.
The league itself weighed in with an executive saying the social issues Kaepernick has raised are valid.
Trump, a frequent critic of protesting NFL players, said that he thinks it’s a ‘‘terrible message’’ for Nike to use Kaepernick in advertisements, but that it’s their decision whether to use the quarterback.
Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear deal to make him one of the faces of Nike’s 30th anniversary ‘‘Just Do It’’ campaign, according to a person familiar with the contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Nike hasn’t officially announced the contract.
The person said Nike will feature Kaepernick on several platforms, including billboards, television commercials and online ads. The deal puts Kaepernick in the top bracket of NFL players with Nike. –