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Two young athletes with ties to Long Island appear in Nike's new "Just Do It" ad campaign, which also features former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Wednesday night, Nike released this announcement called "Dream Crazy" after learning about Kaepernick's role in the campaign. The announcement features a variety of athletes pursuing their favorite sport, from junior football to Serena Williams on the tennis court, with a narrative of Kaepernick.
Korey "KJ" Duff Jr., 12, from Calverton, appears about 40 seconds into the video with an excerpt from a match in 2016.
Duff was caught on camera grabbing a ball with one hand during a Suffolk County football game, a difficult feat that echoed a catch of catcher Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014.
"Do not see yourself with the OBS jersey," says Kaepernick in the Nike announcement. "Picture OBJ carries yours."
Duff's father, Korey Duff Sr., said her son still practiced one-handed capture, but never had to do it once, which resulted in the viral video.
Nike contacted the family a few weeks ago to participate in an advertisement for the company after watching the 2016 clip.
Duff Sr., 33, of Riverhead, said they did not know the context of advertising at the time.
"I did not know it would be an advertisement for Kaepernick before sending me a preview yesterday," he said. "It's just beautiful," he said about the ad.
KJ, now a Grade 7 student at Riverhead Middle School who plays for the school's football team, was also very enthusiastic. He is often reserved, but his father said that the ad was smiling at him – a stamp of approval from KJ. Duff and his son are both fans of Beckham and Kaepernick.
"The fact that it's commercial [KJ is in] It's always very important, "said Duff," We'll always remember and we'll play because of the meaning and it's nice to be part of it.
Isaiah Bird, 10, born born fighter, has received national attention since the age of 6 years. Bird was featured at Newsday in 2014 while he was a wrestler for the Long Beach Gladiators. Bird is the second athlete to appear in the video, with pictures of the fight with another child.
"If people say your dreams are crazy, they laugh at what you think you can do – well," says Kaepernick in the narrative. "Stay like that."
Sandra Carreon-John, a spokeswoman for Nike, said the featured athletes had been carefully selected based on their personal stories.
"The ongoing Just Do It campaign celebrates some of today's most inspiring athletes, who have pursued foolish dreams, no matter the obstacle or outcome," she said in the release. "They also embody the Just Do It spirit and are proud to leverage the power of sport to move the world forward."
Kaepernick became a controversial football figure after beginning to kneel at the 2016 NFL national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. He left the 49ers in 2017 due to the reaction of fans and NFL officials and continued to work as an activist.
Nike announced that Kaepernick would be the last face of its commercials "Just Do It" on Monday with a San Francisco billboard and an online advertisement featuring Kaepernick's face and expression "Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything. " The initial announcement sparked both positive and negative reactions, including calls for boycotts and criticism of President Donald Trump.
Laura Blasey covers trends and latest news for the Long Island office. She has been at Newsday since 2015 and is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
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