NIKE has been getting a lot of heat lately for choosing Colin Kaepernick to be the spokesperson for their new ad campaign. Kaepernick of course is famous for not playing in the NFL as a quarterback but taking a knee during the national anthem during his short lived stint in the NFL. His actions started a movement behind players across the league also taking a knee and following his lead in protesting racial injustice for African Americans/Blacks in this country. He and many others behind this movement believe they are unfairly treated by the justice system and those who work in it in this country and have decided that a way to showcase their displeasure with it, is to not stand up and honor the American flag or National Anthem but to protest it because they do not like the America they are living in.
Many have called Kaepernick's actions disgraceful and disrespectful to the flag, our country, and all that it stands for. Some are saying his actions along with many others is a direct smack in the face to all those veterans who served and currently serve, whether that's in our communities or overseas. President Trump has directly called out this movement and these players. He famously said one time during a rally: "Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b---- off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!"
With the NFL dealing with this so called "movement", and President Trump so publically bashing them, this story has quickly turned into headline news over the last couple months. Now the latest is that NIKE has made the decision to hire Colin Kaepernick as their newest spokesperson. Naturally, it's just added more fuel to the already fire that is burning around the NFL kneeling. NIKE is all about pushing boundaries, personal ones and their slogan is "Just Do It" so Kaepernick seemed to fit right into that mold for them. If you are passionate about something and have a drive, push for it, and "just do it". Some could say, that's exactly what Kaepernick did, regardless of how others feel about it.
On top of the headlines of NIKE choosing Kaerpernick as their new spokesperson, they decided to roll out their brand new ad right on the evening of the NFL opener for the season. Perfect timing right? Clearly it was perfectly crafted to be that way, take a look at the ad if you missed it:
As a result of this new campaign with Kaepernick, stocks have dropped around 3% but shares are still up 25% year to date for NIKE. The big question is, do you think this move by NIKE to hire the controversial icon that is Kaepernick, will ultimately hurt or help their business or will it even make a difference? Kim and VB discuss their thoughts:
-Producer Lightning