Kaepernick, Nike break down barriers through new initiative

Nike’s move to choose Colin Kaepernick as the athlete to head the 30th anniversary of their infamous “Just Do It” campaign was a commendable and intelligent move by the heads in Beaverton, Oregon.

The ad debuted in a tweet from Kaepernick on Labor Day. It received over three thousands retweets and nine hundred thousand likes.

Nike will produce Kaepernick apparel that included shirts and a shoe. The execs at Nike expect the sales to rival those of top NFL stars. Nike also plans to donate a portion of the sales to Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” campaign.

Since the release of the campaign, Nike has sold 61 percent more merchandise than normal. This is all despite President Trump’s claim that Nike was getting “absolutely killed with anger and boycotts”.

From September 3rd to the 13th Nike sold out far more items and discounted fewer than in the ten day period prior to the release of the advertisement. There was initially a drop in Nike stocks after the release, but a little over a week later stocks were at an all-time high and are continuing to rise. As of now the stock is up seven percent since the release of the advertisement. On the year, Nike is up 36 percent, which makes it the highest performing company on the Dow Jones Industrial index.

In reality, this campaign was a calculated risk for Interbrand’s 18th most popular brand in the world. Nike is aware their main customer base is the younger population and knew that they would be very accepting of Kaepernick.

The NFL stated they fully support Kaepernick and his actions which directly contradicts their actions over the past two seasons. This is despite the evidence that has been produced proving the NFL essentially “blacklisted” Kaepernick and his former teammate, Eric Reid, for kneeling during the national anthem. As a result, Kaepernick and Reid have both filed collusion cases against the league as a result of them being blacklisted. As of now, no official ruling has been made but it is very clear the league is concerned about the upcoming result. For a league that has had very little positive attention over the past two years, things will only get worse if they are found guilty. The league office, the owners, and individual teams will all be negatively affected.

Obviously, some of this agreement was business-minded; however, it still shows Nike’s true beliefs to stand behind such a controversial figure.

Since being out of the league, Kaepernick has been named G.Q.’s Citizen of the Year, received praise from athletes and celebrities everywhere, and won Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award. His number 7 jersey has also outsold the majority of active NFL players and fans have even resorted to creating custom jersey’s of their favorite teams with his name on it.

Overall, despite the economic gains Nike received, this is a commendable move that shows the progressive actions our society needs. They also put their relationship with one of their biggest customers, the NFL, at risk however that did not stop them. We can only hope that our society will continue to progress and fight for what is right.