Just doing the right thing
Omar Kelly: Nike, Kaepernick will be on the right side of history.
Ever wonder what the people who wanted Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., think about when they recall that monumental day, which changed America forever?
Or how those individuals that resisted the integration of schools feel decades later?
Or those who supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, helping him come into power Germany before the Holocaust?
I wonder how they feel about being on the wrong side of history.
Nike made a bold move this week to be on the right side of history when one of the world’s largest apparel companies made NFL outcast Colin Kaepernick one of the faces of its newest ad campaign, which pays tribute to 30 years of the “Just Do it” slogan.
The roll out of that marketing campaign, which features an ad with Kaepernick’s face on display behind the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everyin
thing,” was highly discussed on social media.
People who supported Kaepernick’s crusade to shine a light on injustice and police brutality are cheering Nike’s move.
Nike became Nike because the brand was built on the idea of taking chances. Nike made Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson faces of the company at a time when black men were considered too risky to be pitchmen.
So embracing Kaepernick isn’t ground breaking, it’s smart and serves as a tip of the cap to those who popularized their sneakers.
Those who see kneeling NFL players such as Dolphins receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson as unpatriotic and disrespectful to America because they feel the playing of the national anthem isn’t the time to create awareness of social justice, are outraged.
Some have begun to destroy their Nike apparel as an act of protest, hoping to hurt the multi-billion dollar corporation.
Allow me to piggyback on popular rapper and community activist Chance The Rapper’s sentiments about this Nike protest by asking those who are angry about the Kaepernick ad campaign, to get this angry the next time they see police brutality or an unarmed man or woman being shot by a member of law enforcement.
And that leads us back to Kaepernick’s mission, which is to create awareness of what’s happening to many people of color in America today: police brutality, discriminatory lending, gentrification and disproportionate sentencing practices that have been well-documented in the justice system.
Some people will never understand Kaepernick’s mission, or the reason players such as Stills and Wilson take a knee before each game, because they simply don’t want to.
If their outrage wasn’t centered on patriotism they’d shift the narrative to something else to avoid looking at the issues that continue to plague a lot of minorities, and that’s a shame.
Nike should be commended for using the polarizing former NFL player-turned-activist to sell their products.
What I’ve learned over the years is that people don’t have to agree on everything. But if we can have a healthy debate, one where each side actually listens to the other’s point of view to understand their agenda, we’d all be living in a better America.
One our children’s children can be proud of.
At one point in history, the late Muhammad Ali was one of the most divisive, if not hated people in this country. Then time eroded all the hatred the legendary boxer endured for becoming a Muslim and taking a stand against the Vietnam War.
A few years after getting blackballed by the boxing community, Ali became one of the most beloved athletes in the world.
It is going to take some time, but I predict Kaepernick will eventually have a similar transformation because of his stance and for sacrificing his career.
Let us hope those who oppose his cause will work harder to educate themselves on the issues. Hopefully, they can stop hiding behind patriotism as an excuse to not examine what’s gone wrong in the country they say they love so much, which has a well documented history of mistreating people of color.