On August 14th, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem at a 49ers’ game to protest, “a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” against African Americans and other minorities in the United States. Kaepernick continued to protest by not standing during the Anthem, until March 3rd when he opted out of his 49ers contract, with new general manager John Lynch insisting they would have cut him regardless. Even now, Kaepernick still does not play for a team, but a recently released ad by Nike has put him back in the spotlight.

On September 3rd, 2018, Kaepernick, along with Lebron James, Serena Williams, and other athletes were featured in Nike’s new ad scheduled to be shown during the NFL Thursday Night Season Opener. Since then, Kaepernick has been featured in numerous ads by Nike with the words: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” The commercial’s universal theme is about athletes pushing for bigger dreams. It features young athletes who compete amid various challenges, touching on issues like gender, disabilities and weight loss. 

It hasn’t exactly gone over well on Twitter. Fans called for a boycott of Nike’s products over the new ad, with some even burning and cutting off the signature swoosh logo on the Nike gear. The President commented, writing on Twitter, “What was Nike thinking?”. Many individuals on Twitter did respond to Trump, however, by writing answers as “I asked the same when I found out people were voting for you. “What were they thinking?”, and “The opposite of racism.”

Sophomore Angel Bustamante feels that the backlash isn’t justified. “I mean, I think it’s just dumb. What he is supporting, I get some people are furious about that, but you have to see it from his perspective,” Bustamante said.

Despite this negative attention, Lebron James still agrees with Nike and Kaepernick. “I stand for anybody that believes in change. I stand for anybody that believes in a positive attitude,” James said at a Nike fashion show in New York. “I stand with Nike, every day, all day.”

But Interestingly, Nike doesn’t seem to be facing any financial issues as a result of the backlash over the ad. In fact, a recent study by Edison Trends revealed that Nike’s online sales surged 31% the weekend of the ad’s release.