I still hate Nike and their pseudo science which produced “high heeled” running shoes which injured so many people.
That said, good for them. May as well get some loot for them and Colin. Isn’t that what businesses do?
I’m so jaded about Nike, I can imagine this as a ploy to rid the market of current models (through burning and hoarding) so they can release the newest Jordan, or whathaveyou. Haha.
P.S. I’d rather back a cat who kneels for the anthem than one who punches a lady in the face and drags her from an elevator. Ahem...
In this ad, Nike holds him up as a model of living and standing by one's principles; sacrifice for the good. Yet, Nike itself sacrifices nothing.
Now, the ad copy does read, " "...even if it requires sacrifice...", and so is not a demand for sacrifice. Therefore, NIKE's lack of sacrifice is not in literal conflict with its ad's copy.
It is, by not sacrificing, while lauding sacrifice by others, acting against the spirit of its ad copy, however. In that sense, Nike is being disingenuous.( In street talk, it takes a big set for them to be saying that. Of course, as a huge marketing organization, a big set is what it has.)
Human beings can be disingenuous.... I don't believe corporations are capable of a human reaction such as that.
I'm amazed that there's been such a big deal being made out of this... when it's really simple. Nike thinks that it's customer base is likely to be sympathetic towards Kaperneck's political activity.... so, they attempt to cash in on it, by producing a marketing campaign extolling Kapernick's perceived willingness to take a big personal risk for the sake of his beliefs.
Are they Nike's beliefs? Corporations don't HAVE beliefs... other than the belief that a good advertising campaign will sell more sneakers.
If you are opposed to Kapernick's behavior, then you're not the customer Nike is targeting. If you support Kapernick's behavior, then MAYBE you'll vaguely associate the brand 'Nike' with political causes you agree with.... and the next time you're shopping for sneakers, you'll remember.
I doubt it... endorsements are determined by cold hard cash.... specifically, how much cash Nike will pay the NFL to plaster their logo on the uniforms. Evidently, they are willing to pay more than others... and I doubt the Kapernick thing will have any effect.
They are indeed - as the NFL is one of their biggest customers. Whether they gain or lose - I say good on 'em.
Republicans are boycotting Nike because of an ad. Some are even ripping the logo off from their clothes and are in uproar because they sponsor Colin Kaepernick.
What did he sacrifice? He turned down a job from the 49ers. He's already made more money than most ever hope to in a lifetime.He's an a$$ who helped destroy the NFL.
There's no question that this is a watershed. Kaepernick has managed to split Nike off from the NFL, enlist the company in his protest against police violence, encourage other players in their own protests, and do it all while putting some ill-gotten corporate money to good use, and putting a little of it into his own pocket as well. The deal is a thoroughgoing win for Kaepernick and his fellow players, and a thoroughgoing loss for the league. Various MAGA types have gone completely bananas; here are some people burning their Nike gear. But cold-eyed, soulless corporate creatures like Nike do not do things by accident. The company clearly thinks there's more to gain by making Kaepernick its public face than there is to lose, that it can make more money appealing to Kaepernick's supporters than it can by truckling to the shoe-burning crowd. That it is willing to take that gamble has a resonance far beyond the National Football League.
I said HELPED destroy the NFL. Now these folks, they did sacrifice, and are why I stand for the Anthem.
Yeah, sacrificed "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic."
Let no one doubt my Patriotism or my love of country. Thirty one years (and counting) of military service. I’ve never backed down and I’ve always paid the upmost respect to our country, our flag, and our citizens. Doubt me not when I say I love my country.
You may ask what it is that I love about the USofA? Well the answer to that can be found in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This document outlines the basic freedoms that we enjoy, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, protection of the right of life and liberty. These rights and freedoms and many more can be found within that great document. When you get down to the nuts and bolts, what I love about my Country is that our founding fathers built this nation based on these rights and freedoms, free from the oppression of others. Sure we’ve had our bumps and bruises and we have a long way to go, but with our Constitution as the basic building block we can achieve a true equality of man.
We’ve come a long way but yet we still have a long way to go. As a middle aged Southern white male maybe I haven’t seen how severe the racial difference is, maybe I do experience “white privilege”. So I’m probably not in position to say how others have been wronged. What I can say though is if there is a perception of wrong and it is very deeply seated that somewhere there is a kernel of truth. I can’t be blinded by my own safe and secure life to the troubles of others. Just because I don’t see it doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. When others talk about how they are oppressed or treated differently because of race and the call is repeated loudly and often, then I have to take notice and start to believe that yes there is a problem.
I love football, I love the thrill of the game and all the excitement that goes with the winning and all the sorrow that goes with losing. Football is that escape from the drudgery of life, it allows us to step outside of ourselves and to be part of something bigger, but at the end of the day I understand that this is just a game. Here of late however the game I love has been buried in a muck of controversy as players kneel during the National Anthem. This is not the protest I would choose.
I love my country and it brings a tear to my eye when I listen to the National Anthem, I think about all those rights and freedoms that was earned through the blood of others. I have a stirring in my heart as I think of all my brothers and sisters I served with over the years. I’m filled with pride as I think of my time served, of the times I spent away from my family so they and others could enjoy the rights and freedoms our forefathers fought for and established for us. I think of how brother fought brother to hold our nation together. I think of how not once but twice our grandfathers and fathers went off to help stop the spread of evil on the other side of the world. I think of our brothers and sisters that went around the world to spend their lives in defense of others. Of how we have tried to do our part to stop the spread of terror. And I also think about those great leaders that have struggled to bring us to the point where all men are equal.
On game day when I see players take a knee during the National Anthem I am not angered. I don’t take a personal affront to their kneeling, I don’t feel disrespected because of these actions. What I do feel is sadness deep in my heart. A feeling of betrayal, not by them, but a betrayal of us. The blood of our fathers has given us the foundations for the greatest nation ever, a nation where all are equal, a nation where brother and sisters stand arm in arm regardless of race or ethnic background. We as citizens, we as brothers & sisters, we have betrayed that trust given to us by these great men. When our fellow man feels so wronged, when injustice is so great, when this man feels that to make himself heard he has to take a knee during the National Anthem, yes friends WE have betrayed him!
These men are not “Sons of Bitches”, they aren’t disrespecting the flag. These men are taking a knee, crying out for help because we have betrayed them. There is an old saying “if there is smoke there is a fire”, well maybe these men have opened our eyes to the fire. If they choose to kneel in peaceful protest, I personally will defend their right even as I stand beside them with my hand on my heart.
Lets get this straight from the get go. The constitution, bill of right and evern the federalist papers kinda stand by Chad's description pretty accurately.
Bob ya know I love ya man, but you have been sold a slight of hand bag of false goods and you've bought into it lock stock and smoking barrels.
The NFL players peacefully protesting the National Anthem has nothing, NOTHINGnothing to do with disrespecting our troops, or the flag. It has to do with making a statement peacefully that black people are systematic racially profiled and the continued injustice and police brutality being carried out on them everyday. It has to do with exercising the first amendment that the flag & the anthem represents.
Bob Let me ask you would you bitch if players took a knee for aborted babies ? How about for Catholic Church Pedophilia ? Or is it just highly paid black athletes expressing their constitutional rights that bothers you ?
Hat's off to Mr. Kaepernick for trying to point out how screwed things are but I already know about that.
Before I'd burn a perfectly good pair of shoes I'd have to give them to someone, preferably a homeless Veteran.
The bombastic pre-game spectacles of patriotism that had become commonplace at NFL games began to make sense in 2015, after a report by Republican senators John McCain and Jeff Flake revealed the Department of Defense had spread $6.8m of taxpayer money among more than 50 professional teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS and Nascar.
In return, the teams promised organized displays of national pride including the honoring of members of the armed forces, surprise military homecomings and on-field color guard and reenlistment ceremonies. The co-opting of America’s most popular institutions as recruiting tools went by an easy-to-remember name: paid patriotism.
“Americans deserve the ability to assume that tributes for our men and women in military uniform are genuine displays of national pride, which many are, rather than taxpayer-funded DOD marketing gimmicks,” the 145-page report said.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a longtime champion of civil rights, was to the point in his defense of Kaepernick for the Washington Post. He wrote: “What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after [Muhammad] Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what’s really un-American here.”
Stick to sports? Good luck. It’s clear by now that the battle hymn at the center of national debate in the US will always be associated with the games we watch. If only our commitment to the issues put forth by Kaepernick and co was as resolute.
The fact is, CK's protest started with him remaining seated on the bench during the anthem. He was asked about it and said he did so to protest the racial inequality in the U.S. - and esp. the too-quick use of violence against members of communities of color. Whereupon he was contacted by another NFL veteran, Nate Boyer, who had also been a Green Beret, who stated that some might regard it as disrespectful to veterans to simply remain on the bench. Kaepernick listened to Boyer's suggestion that he instead kneel. Since kneeling was regarded as a sign of respect for fallen comrades in the military community.
All this talk about how Kaepernick kneels to disrespect the flag, and veterans, and mothers, and apple pie, and all that... is just horseradish. He kneels, in fact, to make sure that his protest is NOT taken as disrespectful. As suggested by his Green Beret friend.
But some people will tell the lie in an effort to discredit Kaepernick for ideological reasons. It's a lie. Pure and simple. Disrespecting anyone is far from the intention of those who kneel. Highlighting the fact that Kareem mentions in the post above.
“What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated (or kneel) during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after [Muhammad] Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what’s really un-American here.”
And... another look. Some of y'all are not only on the wrong side of the facts, and the wrong side of history... you are also on the wrong side of the Old Phart Gap --
Nike is after money, and nothing else. If they wanted a NFL Football player who sacrificed everything, they could have picked this guy...
It occurs to me, that Nike achieves more than just potential audience growth and copulation. They instigate a free social media campaign. By choosing such a high-profile and highly-controversial subject matter, one in which sides will be vociferously taken, they assure that their brand name bubbles-up constantly on social media. They use us to sell to us.
I agree, they have made a marketing decision, and decided that the market that will agree with the move will out-buy the market that will not. And the protagonists will do most of the marketing for free.
As to your small print question, yes I would bitch, I don't pay to see a protest, I pay for a sporting event these employees are paid to play. Furthermore I care not a whit about a person's skin color. I also couldn't care less about anyone expressing their constitutional rights on their own time.
By the same argument, Bob, you didn't pay to participate in a patriotic rah-rah session which has nothing whatsoever to do with the sporting event.
well, ok, you did. The DOD subsidizes this recruitment tool, so we've all paid for it, but still you can see my point.