Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who knelt down during pre-game anthems to protest against social and racial inequality in the United States, has been chosen as the face of a new advertising campaign by Nike.
The ex-San Francisco 49ers player was chosen to help mark the 30th anniversary of the brand’s famous Just Do It slogan.
The advert features Kaepernick’s face alongside the message: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
While some people are delighted that Nike used Colin Kaepernick in their latest Just Do It advert campaign, some others are upset and have started destroying their Nike shoes.
Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who knelt during pre-game anthems to protest against social and racial inequality in the United States, was appointed by Nike as the new face of the brand but just hours after Nike revealed its Just Do It campaign, featuring a close-up of Kaepernick’s face with the words: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”.
Some of Kaepernick’s critics say kneeling during the US national anthem was offensive to the country and its veterans. To show their objections, they posted videos and photos to Twitter of themselves cutting up Nike socks, setting Nike clothes and trainers on fire, or revealing that they will be boycotting the brand.
A Twitter user who goes by the name Sean Clancy posted a video showing him set a pair of Nike trainers on fire.
He captioned it:
First the NFL forces me to choose between my favorite sport and my country. I chose country.
Then Nike forces me to choose between my favorite shoes and my country.
Since when did the American Flag and the National Anthem become offensive?
Meanwhile, veterans organization Vote Vets has urged critics to donate their items rather than burn them.
Watch one of the videos below.
