Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has signed a deal with Nike in which he will appear in some of the company’s “Just Do It” advertisements. Kaepernick of course pioneered the practice of protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. The first Nike ad features Kaepernick’s face behind the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
C olin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has signed a deal with Nike in which he will appear in some of the company’s “Just Do It” advertisements. Kaepernick of course pioneered the practice of protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. The first Nike ad features Kaepernick’s face behind the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
This is an advertisement, bear in mind, for sports apparel.
As to the substance of Kaepernick’s message, we make no defense of the National Football League and its corporate leadership, which seems to have a policy of handling its problems by making them worse. Still, it’s hard to find fault with the NFL for the fact that Kaepernick’s playing career petered out. The whole regrettable controversy can be best understood, in The Scrapbook’s admittedly fallible view, by remembering that he failed to become a good passer. A tendency to throw the football inaccurately does not lend itself to a long career as a starting NFL quarterback, and Kaepernick’s ability to hit intended receivers diminished markedly during his last two seasons. It’s a common circumstance. Defenses adapt to new quarterbacks, and players’ capacities decline. Most move on to coaching or commentating. Colin Kaepernick moved on to secular sainthood.
