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Cindy Boren
Reporter covering the sport, with a focus on politics and national stories
Nike's new advertising campaign starring Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling demonstration at the national anthem sparked a controversy that engulfed the NFL last season and caused President Trump's irony, cost at least two small schools .
Truett McConnell University, a liberal arts school with approximately 2,600 students in Cleveland, North Georgia, will no longer offer Nike products on its campus. And the sports teams at the College of the Ozarks, a liberal arts school with about 1,500 students from the Point Lookout community in southwestern Missouri, will no longer wear Nike gear. The volleyball team will then switch to the gray T-shirt.
Nike's campaign, with Kaepernick's message of "believing in something, even if it means sacrificing everything," debuted last week. The stock of the company plunged the next day, as images of people were destroying Nike gear to protest the company's association with Kaepernick. According to Edison Trends, however, online sales soared in the days following the announcement. Tuesday at noon, the stock price of the company was higher than before the publication of the campaign.
[A Louisiana mayor wants to ban Nike products, with residents and some Saints players fighting back]
The TMU made the decision, according to a school statement, in part because Kaepernick "makes fun of our troops". The protest by Kaepernick and other NFL players aimed to raise awareness of police brutality and social injustice. the gesture has nothing to do with the army.
Emil Caner, chairman of the TMU, said in a statement that recruiting Kaepernick, a person known to carry pigs on his socks, make fun of the police, kneel against our flag and make fun of our troops is wrong for my family and the Truett McConnell family. the week. Caner's wife, he said, "was raised under the oppression of socialist communism" and became a citizen five years ago, "gladly promising allegiance to these United States and its flag".
"If Nike chooses to apologize to our troops and our security forces, then – and only then – will TMU reconsider their brand," Caner said. In the meantime, he said, the school will donate Nike's past sales to the Wounded Warrior project and to the fraternal order of the police.
The College of the Ozarks announced last week that it would choose its country over society, on the theme of last year, when the school announced its departure if an opposing team went down on their knees, flag or during the anthem.
"In their new advertising campaign, we believe that Nike executives are promoting an attitude of division and disrespect towards America," said College of the Ozarks president Jerry C. Davis in a statement. . "If Nike is ashamed of America, we are ashamed of it. We also believe that those who know what is the sacrifice are more likely to wear a military uniform than the athletic uniform.
The school aims to "promote understanding of the American heritage, civic responsibilities, the love of the country and the desire to defend it".
"Nike is free to campaign as it sees fit, since the College is free and respectful of its mission and goals, to ensure that it respects our country and those who have truly served and sacrificed", said Marci Linson, vice president of the school. for patriotic activities and dean of admissions, said.
During the weekend, members of the volleyball team wore gray tees with "OZARKS" at the back. The team will switch to Adidas uniforms.
Read more about The Post:
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Michael Strahan says he would probably kneel during the national anthem if he was still playing
For decades, the NFL has seized the flag. Now this has hindered business.
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