TAKING HARD HITS ON FIELD AND OFF
It’s no surprise Nike got blowback from link to protest
On Tuesday, it was announced that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick would be the face of Nike’s new ad campaign, and America immediately responded with either elation or complete derision.
As my colleague Thomas LaDuke wrote about earlier, the kneeling controversy that was sparked by Kaepernick caused the NFL’s ratings to dip. “Dip” is putting it lightly.
To put it more accurately, NFL ratings tanked like a rock tied to an anvil welded to an anchor.
During last season’s ongoing controversy, which saw some players kneeling during the national anthem, 33 percent of NFL fans in one survey boycotted the league this year, according to Yahoo Finance.
That group, which the survey labeled as “boycotting,” was asked why, and was given multiple options. Note: Respondents were allowed to select multiple answers; they were not asked which was the biggest factor, just which factors contributed.
They answered as follows: 32 percent said they stopped watching or attending NFL games “in support of Donald Trump”; 22 percent said “in solidarity with players kneeling”; 13 percent said “no interest in the teams playing”; 12 percent said “in support of Colin Kaepernick”; and 11 percent said “news about traumatic brain injuries among players.” Another 8 percent said “games are boring,” while 46 percent chose “some other reason.”
As the record shows, those protesting against the kneelers by turning off the games aside, even those who supported the kneeling
seemed to tune out of NFL games.
What Nike is inviting with its embracing of Kaepernick is more of the same. The kneeling protests left a bad taste in the mouths of many Americans, many of whom took it very personally. What the kneelers thought they were doing is bringing attention to a problem [editor’s note: police brutality], which would have been fair enough to do. However, how they were doing that was spitting in the face of people who fight for and protect our country. Those who gave their lives to protect it were consistently insulted as rich NFL players took a knee during the anthem that celebrates the country these brave souls died for.
Nike has now embraced this disrespect. It’s likely that it will soon feel the same effect many other businesses that have embraced social justice causes have experienced: “Get woke, go broke.”