President Donald Trump criticized Nike Inc. for sending a “terrible message” after it released an ad on Monday featuring quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is suing the NFL for allegedly blacklisting him after he began kneeling in protest during the playing of the National Anthem.
The Nike ad, recognising the 30th anniversary of its slogan “Just Do It,” is a close-up photograph of Kaepernick with two lines of text. “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” it reads.
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) 3 September 2018
Trump said in an interview with The Daily Caller, a conservative website, that “there’s no reason” for Nike to feature Kaepernick in the campaign.
“I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent,” Trump said, though he acknowledged Nike’s right to decide its own marketing strategy. “It is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn’t do, but I personally am on a different side of it.”
The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define. They make a fortune doing what they love......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 10 August 2018
