Colin Kaepernick has been a controversial figure for a couple of years, but now he has a huge sports-based business backing him, so will his face on Nike’s new ad be good or bad for his career?
This will all be speculation of course, because no one can see the future, but there are reasons that no team will touch Kaepernick right now.
This all started in the preseason of the 2016 NFL season, where Kaepernick sat on the bench during the national anthem. Since then, the quarterback himself hasn’t played in the NFL, but the lasting effect of what he started has echoed throughout the sports world and the nation.
Fast forward two years and although Kaepernick isn’t in the NFL anymore, Nike is making sure he is not silenced. Back when all of this started, Kaepernick’s reason was as stated according to the NFL’s website, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Social justice is a cause that any respectable human being should get behind as there isn’t any doubt that there are injustices in this country. We as a nation should not allow these things to go unchecked, and one thing has to be given to the former Super Bowl starting quarterback: He has people talking. Whether you pay attention to sports or not, you’ve most likely heard of Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling, or at the very least about the sports protests during the national anthem. Whether he and other athletes are going about it the right way is an entirely separate issue which The Pacer has previously covered. What is being addressed here is what Kaepernick is doing to his NFL career and the likelihood of another NFL team signing him to their squad.
First of all, look at the people who are already speaking out against the Nike ad, people like the widow of famed U.S. Navy SEAL and sniper Chris Kyle, Taya Kyle who said on Facebook: “How about other warriors? Warriors who will not be on magazine covers, who will not get lucrative contracts and millions of followers from their actions and have truly sacrificed everything.” President Trump has also spoken out against the new Nike campaign, and to top it all off there has been a trend of people burning their Nike gear. Many are videoing themselves lighting their Nike sneakers and other products ablaze over the company’s decision to make Kaepernick the face of their anniversary campaign.
Not close enough to home? How about the mother of fallen U.S. Marine Capt. Brent Morel posting about the Nike ad on Facebook? Capt. Morel graduated from UTM in 1999, and went on to fight for his country in Iraq. Morel heroically led his platoon in a surprise movement across an open field, saving the lives of many of his men. Sadly, Morel paid for his heroics with his life after being shot at close range. A year later, Capt. Morel was awarded the Navy Cross, the nation’s second highest medal for battlefield valor. Morel’s mother, Molly Morel, posted her response to the Nike ad on Facebook the day after it released.
Kaepernick remains a free agent, despite arguably being a better quarterback than many of the other backup quarterbacks that are currently on an NFL roster; quarterback’s such as Sean Mannion (Rams), Cooper Rush (Cowboys), Brad Kaaya (Colts) and many more. Teams refuse to pick Kaepernick up due to the attention that the quarterback brings with him. If a team signed him on they’re not just getting a quarterback, they’re signing on to a media circus along with it and a lot of negative spotlight/scrutiny that most owners do not welcome.
Kaepernick has gone so far as to file a grievance against the NFL for collusion, which is ridiculous. He has not been conspired against or purposefully cheated. Kaepernick has brought all this upon himself. If he wants to resurrect his NFL career, Kaepernick has to go silent. To be clear, I’m not saying he should, but his name and reputation are now synonymous with controversy, and the only way to make that go away is to go silent. Now, if Kaepernick cares more about being an activist for social change and a figure for mass controversy, keep it up. If his name being alongside all the controversy that it is right now was beginning to fade, this new ad revamps all of it. Sadly for Kaepernick, I don’t think he can have both.
