Thursday Night football fans will see the ad.
It takes more than not getting a contract to keep Colin Kaepernick off NFL viewers’ screens.
The controversial quarterback’s new ad with Nike will reportedly air during the regular season opener for the NFL on Thursday night.
Nike came under fire (literally) after announcing Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” ad campaign.
The advertisement ran with the slogan, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Obviously, this slogan paired, with Kaepernick’s controversial views on police officers and America in general, angered many patriotic Americans .
Now, Nike and Kaepernick have released the video advertisement that will likely air during the NFL opener.
Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/x5TnU7Z51i
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 5,2018
The national anthem protests, led by Kaepernick, have undoubtedly damaged the NFL’s brand. Although the anthem protests started with just Kaepernick kneeling during the song, they quickly escalated to entire teams kneeling or refusing to participate in the anthem.
The NFL considered punishing athletes for kneeling during the anthem, but they quickly folded to pressure from the players’ union.
President Donald Trump has been the league’s strongest critic. He also called out Nike for Kaepernick’s place in the ad.
Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5,2018
Trump was right about crashing ratings for the NFL and falling stocks for Nike. Most Americans agreed with the president that protests during the national anthem are “inappropriate” and more and more people have stopped watching the NFL altogether.
Despite all of this, Nike will run the ad during Major League Baseball games, the U. S. Open, college football games, and, of course, the NFL.
