Canadian teen stars in Nike ad
Canadian teen soccer star Alphonso Davies is among the athletes featured in a new Nike campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick that’s drawing attention worldwide.
A two-minute commercial released online Wednesday has the former NFL quarterback speaking about athletes overcoming adversity to achieve greatness.
The ad includes footage of Davies scoring a goal for Canada’s men’s soccer team as Kaepernick says “if you’re born a refugee, don’t let it stop you from playing soccer for the national team at age 16.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder was born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled the Liberian civil war, and the family immigrated to Canada when he was five.
Kaepernick became a lightning rod by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem as a protest against racial injustice and police brutality. Now out of football, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is pursuing a collusion grievance against the NFL.
The ads feature Nike’s trademark ‘Just Do It’ slogan alongside the quarterback’s face and the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Basketball star LeBron James and tennis great Serena Williams are two of the most famous athletes featured.
Marathoner Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who attempted to break two hours in the marathon in a Nike project before missing by 25 seconds, and one-handed Seattle Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin also are included.
Davies was first called up to play for Canada in July 2017, shortly after he received his Canadian citizenship. He’s part of the national squad that will compete in a CONCACAF Nations League qualifier on Sunday against the U.S. Virgin Islands in Bradenton, Fla.
The 17-year-old made headlines around the globe this summer when he was transferred to German soccer giant Bayern Munich for a record-setting $22 million. Davies will join the German team after the MLS season concludes.
Kaepernick narrates the full spot but first physically appears midway through. As a camera pans to reveal Kaepernick’s face, a reflection of a United States flag is visible on the facade of a building behind him.
Kaepernick says: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
At the start of the ad, Kaepernick says: “If people say your dreams are crazy, if they laugh at what you think you can do, good. Stay that way, because what nonbelievers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it’s a compliment.”
The former 49ers quarterback is revealed as the narrator toward the end of the spot.
The commercial’s universal theme is about athletes pushing for bigger dreams. It features young athletes who compete amid various challenges, touching on issues of gender, disabilities and weight loss, among others.
Kaepernick says at the end: “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they are crazy enough.”
The spot is expected to air during college football and MLB games, and stream on various music, gaming and other platforms, Nike spokeswoman Sandra Carreon-John said.
Kaepernick hasn’t spoken to the media publicly since opting out of his contract with San Francisco and becoming a free agent in 2017. He scored a legal victory last week in his grievance against the NFL and its 32 teams when an arbitrator allowed his case to continue to trial. The quarterback claims NFL team owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests. His case hinges on whether owners worked together rather than decided individually to not sign Kaepernick.
A similar grievance is still pending by former San Francisco teammate Eric Reid, a Pro Bowl safety who joined in the protests.
Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear agreement to make him one of the faces of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the detail had not been revealed publicly.
Nike also will create an apparel line for Kaepernick, including a signature shoe, and contribute to his Know Your Rights charity, the person said.