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The culture wars have hit Kenner over the weekend, with a noise explosion around the world of social media.
Mayor Ben Zahn's note banning Kenner's leisure clubs from buying Nike products – apparently in response to new Nike commercials with quarterback Colin Kaepernick – prompted a quick reaction, with some officials and personalities visiting social networks.
"I have not been informed of this decision in advance and it is in direct contradiction with what I represent and what the city of Kenner should represent.I am 100% AGAINST this decision", said Gregory Carroll, Kenner District 1 Councilor. Facebook post. "I will meet with the mayor and other council members to cancel this directive."
The memo, which Zahn signed on Wednesday, said: "Under no circumstances will a Nike product or product bearing the Nike logo be purchased or used in a recreational facility in the City of Kenner.
But Carroll was not the only one who did not know that the city had new rules.
Joe Sensebe, president of the support club for Woodlake City, said no one had told him about the note until the message began to spread Sunday.
District 4 Councilor George Branigan also stated that he was caught off guard when the memo was posted on social media, stating that during an interview, he did not go out. had not seen or even heard before the weekend.
Nike has recently been the focus of a national controversy after launching new commercials featuring former NFL quarterback, Kaepernick, who had been widely criticized – and supported – for having played the national anthem with the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick chose to kneel to protest the killing of African Americans by the police.
Many other players have followed suit, especially during the 2017 season, which has led to much criticism from President Donald Trump and many others. Kaepernick has not played in the league since 2016.
Although Zahn did not respond to requests for comments on Sunday, he spoke on the issue a week earlier at Kenner's Freedom Fest at the lake.
"She's going out and doing our national anthem because it's not the NFL footballers, no, it's the city of Kenner, in the Kenner town we're all standing," he said. . .
Carroll said he respected opposing points of view, but could not simply turn these views into urban politics.
"What is it? We just had a board meeting on Thursday, I did not know anything about it," he said in an interview.
Carroll added that he had spoken briefly with the Mayor on Sunday, mainly to confirm that the memo was real because he was so shocked to hear it.
Donna Brazile, former chair of the Democratic National Committee and native Kenner, was also surprised to hear the news. She tweeted a photo of the note on Sunday with the comment "disappointed in my beloved Kenner town".
Among other speakers, liberal activist Shaun King, former US Attorney Kenneth Polite and New Orleans City Councilman, Jay Banks, posted a photo of him on Facebook, announcing that he had bought Sunday.
Jacqueline Brown-Cockerham, a Kenner-based preacher, said that she also likes Nike, but the biggest problem is that the mayor made the decision in the first place.
"This is not a lack of respect for the flag, but you tell me that you prefer to talk about a piece of cloth (the flag) and that you hold this value more than the lives of blacks," he said. said Brown-Cockerham. , whose mentally ill nephew Armand Brown was shot dead by Kenner police in January 2017 after being armed with a knife.
Carroll, who lost to Zahn in a second round for Kenner's mayor in 2016, said the mayor should have taken into account other opinions on a question like this.
"We are different, we represent different people, we are in different parties, so … my ears will hear it differently from other board members who have different opinions," Carroll said.
Follow Nick Reimann on Twitter, @nicksreimann.
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