Colin Kaepernickhas not played on an NFL team since 2016, but he continues to make a statement off the field.
On Monday, the Super Bowl quarterback, 30, revealed he is the new face of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” reads the ad that was shared on Instagram andTwitter.
The latest Nike ad marks Kaepernick’s first spokesperson gig for the company in over two years and comes despite Nike being the NFL’s official uniform sponsor.
Kaepernick, who has been a Nike athlete since 2011, made headlines in August 2016 when he declined to stand for the anthem when it was played before games. Instead of standing, he kneeled to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,”Kaepernick said at the time. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Months later, he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco Niners in March 2017 and has not been able to find a new team since. He is now suing the NFL claiming teams colluded to keep him out of the league.
As more players follow Kaepernick’s lead,President Trump weighed in on the protestsin September 2017 with a series of tweets and stated that NFL owners should fire players who do not stand for the anthem.
During a rally speech in Alabama, Trump stated, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out, you’re fired.’ ”
source: people.com
