Kaepernick on Monday posted a photo to his Instagram and Twitter accounts featuring a black-and-white close-up of his face overlaid with an inspirational message: “Believe in Something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”. The Nike logo and “Just Do It” slogan are below.
Reports from Yahoo and CBS Sports said Nike is expected to release a new line of Kaepernick-related apparel soon, but the image posted to social media was enough to prompt some to call for a boycott of the company.
Trump has been critical of the NFL in the past for not being more proactive in addressing players kneeling during the national anthem and he criticised Nike over the campaign with Kaepernick, who first took a stand in 2016 to protest police brutality and perceived injustice.
On Tuesday, the NFL released a statement addressing Kaepernick’s fight to draw attention to social issues.
Kaepernick came to the forefront of the NFL’s discussion of social issues when he first sat and then kneeled for the national anthem in 2016. “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”
“I think it’s a terrible message that they’re sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there’s a reason for them doing it, but I think as far as sending a message, I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent,” Trump told the Daily Caller. “There’s no reason for it.”
The 30-year-old – who in November last year filed a grievance against the league in which he alleged franchise owners colluded to prevent him from signing for a team – then spoke about wanting to bring attention to racial injustice in the country, saying he could not stand for the anthem because he did not believe the country was upholding the values for which the song stands.
“The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity,” Jocelyn Moore, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications and public affairs said in a statement. “We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities.”
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