Insults their sacrifice

Nike is using the less-than-great former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick in an ad featuring Mr. Kaepernick with these words across his face: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” His everything is a declining career playing football and losing a large paycheck, but he does not seem to want to honor our national anthem or our flag by kneeling.

In 1943 my late brother, along with about a dozen classmates, joined the Navy within a week of their high school graduation because they did “believe in something”—helping win World War II. All of them served with honor until the end of the war in September 1945.

My brother, at age 19, was in the large group of vessels assembled off Okinawa preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended after two A-bombs were dropped on Japanese cities. He along with the others did face the possibility of “sacrificing everything”—their lives. Instead of a football career and a huge paycheck, they got less than $2,000 a year for their service.

Not standing for the anthem and showing disrespect for the flag by using the term “sacrificing everything” should not qualify Mr. Kaepernick for the use of this slogan. If it is the choice of Nike and Mr. Kaepernick to insult those that did sacrifice so much, then I suggest that Nike products be boycotted until they can show some respect. HOMER FELTNER

Maumelle