Colin Kaepernick watched his new commercial debut during NFL season kickoff at Nike headquarters
On Thursday night, Colin Kaepernick had the pleasure of watching his inspiring Nike commercial air on primetime TV from the company’s Oregon headquarters during the NFL season kickoff.
—Colin Kaepernick’s new Nike ad with Lebron, Serena and refugees will give you chills—
The video featuring the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers was aired for the first time on TV during the third quarter of the Eagles-Falcons game.
“If people say your dreams are crazy, if they laugh at what you think you can do, good,” Kaepernick says at the start of the ad. “Stay that way because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it’s a compliment.”
—College cheerleader sues school after she’s kicked off team for kneeling during national anthem—
The ad was unleashed for the 30th anniversary of Nike’s first Just Do It campaign and Nike also released ads featuring Serena Williams, NFL receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., and one-handed football player Shaquem Griffin, who made the Seattle Seahawks for the upcoming NFL season.
There weren’t any apparent protests during the season opener either.
Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins who has been a supporter of the NFL protests said the Nike commercial is a game changer for Kaepernick.
“Quite frankly, long after all of this is done (Kaepernick) will be looked at as somebody that changed this sport and changed the dynamics of all athletes in general in our country,” Jenkins said.
On Friday morning, Donald Trump tweeted this reaction to the ad:
What was Nike thinking?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2018
“I don’t like what Nike did. I don’t think it’s appropriate what they did,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News before a rally in Montana thursday night. “I honor the flag. I honor our national anthem, and most of the people in this country feel the same way.”
Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case against the league and team owners accusing them of conspiring to keep him off any team’s roster had a major victor: an arbitrator has allowed the challenge to go to trial.
