Nike just did it, taking the plunge into full-bore anti-Americanism by making disgraced ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick its latest ad campaign’s face. While this caused nationwide outrage among traditionalists, many wouldn’t expect higher education to take the higher road here. But there is an exception: Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia. The school announced Friday that it is completely severing its relationship with Nike.
The university’s president, Dr. Emir Caner, said that his institution will no longer purchase or sell goods created by a company that endorses someone who “mocks our troops.” This came in the wake of Nike airing its first “Just Do It” ad, narrated by Kaepernick, the unsigned free agent football player who sparked the anti-American, anti-police practice of “kneeling” during the pre-NFL-game playing of the National Anthem.
As the school reports at its website, “The ad, which Kaepernick is quoted saying: ‘Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,’ will be published on billboards, apparel, and commercials.”
Of course, Kaepernick’s statement is nonsense. Already worth $20 million, the athlete will now be getting many millions more yearly from Nike (that the figure appears undisclosed may hint at how obscene it is). Any wounded soldier who fought for our country would love to thus sacrifice — some would just settle for having their limbs back.
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This reality wasn’t lost on President Caner. As the university website also reports:
“America has sacrificially given my family the freedoms we enjoy today,” said President Caner. “My wife, who was raised under the oppression of socialistic communism, became a citizen five years ago, joyfully pledging allegiance to these United States and her flag.”
“For Nike to then hire Colin Kaepernick,” added Caner, “a person known for wearing pigs on his socks, mocking law enforcement, kneeling against our flag, and mocking our troops, is reprehensible to my family and to the Truett McConnell family.”
… “If Nike chooses to apologize to our troops and to our law enforcement officers, then — and only then — will TMU reconsider their brand,” said President Caner. “In the meanwhile, let us honor true heroes, those who protect us daily, some even sacrificing their own lives. They are the true heroes.”
Far from apologizing, however, Nike has doubled down and further lionized Kaepernick. As Fox News informs, “‘We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward,’ Nike [spokesman] Gino Fisanotti told ESPN.”
This is nonsense, too. As I’ve reported in the past, Kaepernick’s Black Lives Matter-oriented protest is based on the divisive lie that blacks are disproportionately targeted and shot by police. In reality, not only are more white suspects shot every year, but police are also more likely to shoot whites, relative to the races’ different homicide rates and the rates at which they feloniously shoot police.
Moreover, studies have shown as well that police are more willing to shoot whites, conditioned as they are to fear the possible social and career ramifications of shooting a black suspect.
But Nike cares not about reality and morality but money. And their anti-American strategy just may pay off. As Time Money opines, “The company also knows its customers. Two-thirds are younger than 35, and it’s an ethnically diverse consumer base, according to NPD Group.”
The site continues, “‘Nike cares most about the category influencers and tastemakers — nearly all of whom will embrace their decision,’ said Howe Burch, the former head of U.S. marketing for Reebok. ‘They know they will lose some customers short-term but not the kind of customers that really drive their business.’”
Time also points out that Nike has a long history of supporting “disruptive” athletes, from Steve Prefontaine to not-so-serene Serena Williams.
Note, too, that Nike is not American. It’s a globalist, multinational corporation whose allegiance isn’t even to the almighty dollar — it’s to currency in any form.
Someone else who thinks Nike’s decision will bear fruit monetarily is Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. He explained his reasoning on last Wednesday’s edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight (video below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDcSjLUYLsI
An opposing point of view was expressed on Carlson’s show a couple of days earlier by Fox Sports 1 anchor Jason Whitlock (video below).
Whitlock also makes the good point that Nike’s embrace of Kaepernick is a public-relations ploy designed to polish up its leftist credentials. After all, the company has been sued by blacks and women claiming discrimination and has been condemned for using Asian “slave labor,” as Whitlock puts it. So it wants to ensure it’s in the good graces of the callow cult of culture destroyers.
So will Nike, which is named after the Greek goddess of victory, emerge financially victorious here? Any such outcome certainly wouldn’t be a victory for America. But it would speak volumes about Americans, showing that the world’s Dr. Emir Caners are now a minority. So perhaps we can say that aside from government, people get the big business they deserve as well.
Image: Screenshot of ad from truett.edu