U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest clash involves Nike after the company released a powerful advertisement on Labor Day.
In celebration of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign, Nike released a new ad that pictured Colin Kaepernick’s face and the words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
The advertisement created a lot of buzz on social media and was the top trending topic on Twitter for more than seven hours on Monday.
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On Tuesday, Trump responded to the new Nike ad calling it a “terrible message” and said “there’s no reason for it. I think it’s a terrible message that they’re sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there’s a reason for them doing it,” Trump said in an interview with the Daily Caller. “I think it’s a terrible message and a message that should not be sent. There’s no reason for it.”
Kaepernick, who is known for being the first player to kneel and protest during the national anthem, has not been one of Trump’s favorite persons. The president has publicly announced his displeasure for those players who kneel during the national anthem, saying that they should be fired and even called them “sons of b#tches.”
President Trump has even made remarks towards NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the lack of ability he has in controlling the protests.
The president has recently made derogatory remarks towards NBA superstar LeBron James after the four-time league MVP opened a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The Nike ad prompted the NFL to release a statement addressing the protests on Tuesday as well.
“The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding, and unity,” NFL executive vice president of communications and public affairs said in a statement. “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”
This marks the first time that the league has publicly announced any type of support for the player’s protests.
Kaepernick signed a deal with Nike in 2011 but had not been used in any advertisement the past couple of years. Nike’s vice president of the brand in North America, Gino Fisanotti, told ESPN they believe Kaepernick is “one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation.”
Kaepernick joins Serena Williams, LeBron James, Odell Beckham Jr. and others in Nike’s new “Just Do It” campaign.
“Having a huge company back him could be a controversial reason for this company, but they’re not afraid,” Williams stated on the impact of Nike’s new ad. “I feel like that was a really powerful statement to a lot of other companies.”
Kaepernick has recently been in the news after the announcement of his collusion case against the NFL was granted a full hearing on August 30th.
