Some Social media users literally burned Nike products on Monday in protest of the company’s decision to make Colin Kaepernick one of the faces of its 30th-anniversary “Just Do It” campaign.
Kaepernick is just one of a series of athletes being featured as part of the campaign – Serena Williams forms part of it, too.
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Is the Colin Kaepernick endorsement decision a smart move for Nike?
In featuring Kaepernick, Nike VP Gino Fisanotti called him “one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.”
Certain people on social networks weren’t as enthusiastic about the choice.
Twitter user “Sean Clancy” said he might go buy a pair of Adidas sneakers as he posted a video of burning Nike shoes.
Another user, @AlterAtYeshiva, posted a video of Nike shoes burning as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in the background.
User “Kolten Conrad,” meanwhile, posted a video that showed Nike products going in the trash before they were lit on fire.
The users burned the products in protest of Nike’s decision – and of Kaepernick’s, to kneel during the playing of the national anthem at NFL games in a statement against the treatment of black people in the United States.
He began his protest in 2016, and has not been signed by an NFL team since 2017, when he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Other social media users took a different tactic in response to Nike’s new campaign.
They too used fire, but to burn something else.
Like in this video, which came with a twist.
Or this one, in which the user burned items from a different brand.
The move to burn Nike products drew disparate reactions on social media.
Some supported efforts to boycott the company.
Others mocked them.
Still others suggested doing something besides burning Nike shoes.
Kaepernick and fellow player Eric Reid have filed grievances against the NFL, alleging collusion after neither had been signed by a team following their protests.
An arbitrator denied the NFL’s move to dismiss the case on Thursday.
That means there’s a possibility the case could end up in a courtroom.
- With files from Reuters
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