The sportswear maker Nike has announced it will use American football player Colin Kaepernick its advertising campaign to celebrate its "Just Do It" 30th anniversary. Mr Kaepernick ignited controversy 2016 while playing as quarterback his team the San Francisco 49ers. He refused to stand the national anthem as a protest racial injustice and social issues. Instead he knelt down one knee. This started a trend other players "taking the knee" support the Black Lives Matter movement. Kaepernick's actions caused heated debate. In September 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted that NFL players should be either fired or suspended if they failed to stand up the national anthem.
Nike will use a close- image of Kaepernick's face the caption: "Believe something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." Nike supplies the uniforms for all the NFL's 32 teams and is a corporate sponsor the NFL. The company knows it will receive a backlash using Mr Kaepernick its ads. However, it said: "We believe Colin is one the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power sport to help move the world forward." Yahoo Sports said: "It's an interesting decision for Nike. No other athlete produces the same emotional response as Kaepernick." Many social media applauded Nike its decision. One person tweeted: "Time to throw away all my Nike crap."
