Re-Kaepernick/Nike

God bless Kaepernick for standing up for what's right and fighting for people that have no voice. God bless Nike for giving validation to his sacrifice. God bless you for some of the truest words ever written.

Thank you

Jim Archer

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Just awesome

Josh Cohen

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C'mon Bob,

Kaepernick sacrificed nothing.

He hasn't been a NFL caliber quarterback in a long time

Ray Valencia

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At a guess, people who think "Take a Knee" is pointless or unpatriotic, will simply not buy Nike. It will not be a "boycott" in the sense that Sleeping Giants organizes; rather it will be a choice to reject the politicization of shoes.

And it is this sort of tone deaf politicization of everything which is pretty much guaranteed to get you more Trump. More Trump at the mid-terms and more Trump in 2020.

Cheers,

Jay Currie

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I feel like Tommy Smith and John Carlos never get enough mentions around the Kapernick story.

Isn't this the most obvious "right side of history" reference we have to relate to this?

Also: Don't forget how much Nike is a sponsor and partner of the NFL.

Thanks.
-Dave Rubin

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Seeing Nike decide to take a stand today behind Kaepernick lifted my spirits so high. It seems everyday lately it's been getting uglier and uglier. Not today. I've been telling myself that what is right ultimately wins. I've been fighting inside to have faith in that. Today, my hope and faith got stronger. Gratitude to Colin, a true American hero. What's right is right, don't give up the fight.

urbano

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Thanks for sharing Bob. Instead of sitting back and complaining about Trump I've been volunteering for Beto O'Rourke for senate in Texas. I came across this video of his response to a question about football players taking a knee. Wanted to share in case you haven't seen it!
https://nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/beto-orourke-on-nfl-players-kneeling-during-the-national-anthem

Lincoln Athas

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Right on, well said!

cali4nancytaylor

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You're the man, Bob.

Jake Soffer

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So agree with you Bob. Seems like a change is going to come. As Bob Dylan said "its a hard rain gonna fall".

Rob Braide

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Yes!

Geronimo Son

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Agent Orange? Perfect. First time I have read it. I am now living my fathers curse, "may you live in ""interesting"" times". He checked out 2 1/2 years ago. Smart.

Michael A. Becker

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Great post!

Dominic Jones

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Blah, blah, blah.

Stick to your strengths.

John Kendig

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The NFL is just like a holding company or trade association, beholden primarily to ownership, which consists of rich, white, conservative men. Roger Goodell may have Good in his name, but he's just a puppet of ownership lacking power to influence change. He can't take a shit without the owners' approval. Nike, on the other hand, is still influenced by Phil Knight, a visionary and risk taker, who is not afraid to be different or shy away from social or controversial causes. Very few men in Corporate America (re: Steve Jobs) would underwrite a brand campaign using Kaepernick, especially in such a hostile, inflammatory environment fueled by a President who is unafraid to spin facts and intentions to support a personal agenda. The rich white leadership of the NFL may be titans of industry, but they are clueless when it comes to branding, understanding social causes and crafting a campaign that can simultaneously demonstrate both patriotism and empathy for those who feel victimized. The NFL is an enormous platform, but ownership is way too insular and scared to use it for social good.

Stuart K. Marvin

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I'm too young to remember the sixties (I'm 53), but I smell something, and it smells like upheaval.

William Brody

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That's a great, inspiring column, Bob. Right on. And go Nike.

John Kehe

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Senseless

papaguitar

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Thanks Bob, beautifully put — great post!

Jimmy Higgins

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Keep my name out of you publish

Did you see John Rich get TORCHED on Twitter over this? John is half of Big And Rich, a prolific song writer, and was also a contestant on The Apprentice. John and a lot of people live in an echo chamber. In fact, I believe if he had posted this on Facebook (and maybe he did) the algorithm would have ensured his post got overwhelming support. (I think this is where FB will eventually fail - it's like a version of the Matrix.)

Note that John doubled down on this post.

https://twitter.com/johnrich/status/1036751396002050050?ref_src=twcamp%5Eshare%7Ctwsrc%5Eios%7Ctwgr%5Eother%7Ctwcon%5E7100%7Ctwterm%5E3

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Nice thoughts on a difficult subject. I'm appalled with how minorities (of any kind) get treated by police. The whole idea of policing is hard to start with. I'm a white American male. As a musician driving a beat up Chevy Van that needed paint, I got profiled heavily by the police. It wasn't fun. Once in Newport Beach a cop coming the opposite direction hit his lights and flipped a U-turn to pull me over BEFORE he had passed me. "Sir, do you know why I pulled you over? You have a tail light that's out." Well, at least he called me sir.

Personally, I don't think he (Kaepernick) should have kneeled, but I think he has the right. He should really understand his possition. He's not working because he's a marginal QB and he's a hot potato. I realize it's a different sport but Football needs a Branch Rickey, unfortunately for Colin Kaepernick, he's no Jackie Robinson.

My name is not withheld.

Tracy Lipp

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Nike sell to the world and is not totally dependent on the American market and how many Trump supporters are athletes?

Brian Fisher

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So now I have to boycott the NFL AND Nike. Great..

Jared T

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Bob, Youre a fairly intelligent guy so I know Nike's hypocrisy isn't lost on you. It just doesn't fit your narrative so you selectively choose to ignore it. (Which ironically makes you just like the conservatives you despise so much.)

Nike has had slave labor in China in the form of 8 yr old kids making their shoes but you conveniently don't mention that and instead paint them as some great pillar of integrity and champion of human rights. Meanwhile they're engaging in the greatest long term green washing campaign in the history of brands.

John Brubaker

P.S. Regarding Kaepernick not getting caught in any faux pas, you again seem to conveniently forget details. Like him wearing a Fidel Castro T-shirt to a press conference and saying America should be more like Cuba.

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Don't know why but this campaign feels genuine to me, as opposed to an opportunistic attempt by Nike to curry favor with their consumers. More power to them.

Dean Ross

PS have you seen the responses on Twitter to John Rich's Tweet on this? Very funny and enlightening

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Less than 50% of eligible voters accessed their right to vote - SHAME!. You want to break the log jam? Replace 50%+ of Congress and the Senate.

Now for Kaepernick - you want to impress me? Protest on your day off, on you time, not during a football game. Do you job land show me your dedication to the cause on your own time - let me watch the game in peace, PLEASE!

Thomas B.

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I wear my Nikes proud!

Terri Haram

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I can just imaging the social media cry to boycott Nike. Outlets like Fox are probably broadcasting clips about people switching brands because they want to make America great again to that time when athletes just played their sport.

Jonathan Schneider

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That's the funniest analysis I ever read. You threw the Puerto Rico situation in there? All the fed gov't. supplies sat in port rotting like Live Aid food in 1985. The local gov't. has been so corrupt. St Thomas got destroyed by the same hurricane. However, you do not see the same issues.

Thomas Kenny

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As someone on CBC radio (Canada's national broadcaster) said this morning, if only Nike would refuse to manufacture anything for the Cleveland Indians or Washington Redskins until they changed their names and logos.

N. Russell

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Bravo. This is the first time I've given a crap about Nike in my entire 57 years of living. Now they get my respect.

John Horner

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Haha. Agent Orange. Love your music disagree with your politics. I have more money in my pocket, more freedom with my health care and the US is finally respected abroad. Unemployment is super low, small business thriving, no more phony Iran deal. But let's attack this President over and over while his policies make us incredibly strong and economically sound. A place we haven't been in such a long time. It's you who don't really care about minorities, otherwise you'd applaud the lowest employment rate in decades for minoroties. No... you're for status quo... Bush, Obama, Biden... they are status quo. All doing it the same way and failing miserably. We all say we want an outsider and when we get him
he actually starts winning and you want to go back, because you're afraid. But we're not going back... ever.

Tres Sasser

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How can anyone disagree that aggressive, unnecessary violence by authorities (especially against a particular group) is a problem? Since when is kneeling a sign of disrespect to anything— ever? How has the conversation been allowed to be coopted by dog whistle racism? So much extreme polarization, politically, economically, racially— BUT—-It is starting to feel like the pendulum is swinging back the other way if walking through Boston yesterday (labor day) was any indication . There were hundreds of energetic union members picketing in the streets waving signs reading "One job should be enough". Yes, it should. One indication hopefully of more to come. The rich should not be the only citizens entitled to dignity and access to some form of a life outside of making ends meet. And calling out abuses of power is precisely what this country was founded on.

Bob Kalill

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Right on

Randi Swindel

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Yesterday was the first day I thought Colin Kaepernick might actually succeed to the fullest extent possible. Last year when no team would sign him -- an obvious starting QB -- I thought both his career and cause were derailed. But, with the lawsuit moving forward and this Nike support, I think he might actually play again one day and that he might actually get people talking about the point of his protest: police brutality.

Gordon Chaffin

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If only we could get the music of the 60s back.

Jeff Lewis

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Right on!

Marty Hecker
Denver, CO

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Immeasurable respect for Nike to do what no other company has shown to have the balls to do... lay it all on the line for what is right. Wasn't a Nike guy before but you can bet your sweet ass I am now.

Nike got down on their knees, looked the John Rich's of the world right in the eye and said, "F the racists, we ain't about that...multiply that by millions."

PIGSOCKS - RACISTS

Understanding is an exercise, perception is a choice...

Aben Eubanks

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I get it.
Good for Nike
Better for Colin
He deserves the acknowledgment
However
Nike using this to sell shoes made by underpaid Vietnamese workers to people, black and white, who consider themselves "woke" seems like a bit of a conundrum.

Jack Haynes

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Beautiful, man

Gregory Spradling

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I've never understood the resistance to Colin K's 'taking a knee'.

America likes to say it was built on this idea of the individualist standing up for the right values even in the face of opposition.

Colin K didn't hurt anyone, didn't scream, or demean any other person. He didn't even demand attention. He took a very simple, very quiet, and poetic action to protest a very obvious problem.

I know Nike's move is partly marketing. But in this crazy era, which is a lot like the sixties, and in some ways much worse, I take my hat off to Nike.

My admiration for Colin K, though is boundless. He's a true hero.

Karen Gordon

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And to all those ignorant anti-Kaep folks that are exploiting Pat Tillman's name for this issue - Tillman was a Chomsky-reading American that thought the Iraq War was "fucking illegal." How does that fit into your narrative?

And yes, athletes like Kaepernick are fellow human beings. Amen brother!

"That's right, most of the players are black. Who cares if they're paid a lot. First and foremost they're people."

Cheers,
Bill Lackemacher (not anonymously)
Sacramento

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Who knew it would be a Shoe company that makes the stand! Before movies, before (most) top pop, rock , hip hop and country artists--- before mostly everyone. Proud to wear my Nike's today. Le Resistance!—Gary Spivack

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"And Nike's record is not perfect, but they've done a very good job of protecting athletes, standing by them, "

Sure is feeling like the 60s! Where are those shoes made? Are we going back to that nasty nihilistic cynicism of the Age of Aquarius?

"No one in America likes to sacrifice."

What's he getting paid? More than Pat Tillman got paid?

Cheers!

Michael Lang

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Thank you Bob!

Victor Krag

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Amen.

Ryan Richardson

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Thanks Bob
It does feel like the 60s all over again. If George Wallace or Barry Goldwater were to raise up out of the grave and run, they might have a chance in 2020! But we're not going to let that happen are we?
Kenny Lee Lewis

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This is to Trump Republicans as what the Cavangh hearings are to Democrats
Rick Goodrich

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Hi Bob. Interesting as usual. Maybe you have seen a similar history of the Nat'l anthem during football games. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nfl-sideline-anthem/
This is not a spontaneous display of patriotism. This is a cynical, for-profit display pitched by our government and NFL owners and paid for with your tax dollars. I do not see the value. I'm liberal and big on Free Speech. However I feel the players are on company time and should be willing to follow reasonable rules. If players want to make a political statement, they can do it on their own time. Imagine if I "took a knee" at my company meetings to make a point, hijacking the purpose of the meeting in the process. How long before I'm asked to continue my career elsewhere? So please explain to me why NFL players should be treated differently.
Jon Brooks

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Brilliant. We need a Revolution and we need it now. #justdoit

Lynn Crosswaite

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Right on Bob!

Sorta like the 60s again... but back then it was musicians leading. It wasn't the FBI, intelligence agencies like the CIA and Big Corporations leading the way. What does that say about the rest of us? Cowering are we?

Michael Hugos

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Good one bob. In the sixties we were all about the revolution. We fought a war against a war and won. It wasn't the VC who beat the U.S. Army, It was the Hippies and the musicians who led them, starting with The Beatles.

Jane Fonda showed more courage than almost anyone. Few of the bands expected to get rich, and that was never the goal. When they did achieve fame and fortune they did not abandon their ideals. Most of today's musicians are focused on the money first, have no ideals, and music suffers because of it.

More importantly, they have abandoned the last line of defense against the (R)azi Party.

Pax, Hartmann

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Oh Bob,

You're going to get so much shit for this one that you're going to need a bigger septic tank.

But good for you, and good for Nike. When you actually see somebody taking a stand that might actually impact them negatively and they still do it, it's a lovely thing. It happens so infrequently.

Keep reporting .

Best,
Rik Shafer

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And every single idiot out there burning their Nikes (or their kids' Nikes) has no idea what Kaepernick's protest was actually about. Because they are not equipped to go learn and understand for themselves. They actually believe what some stooge on Fox News tells them to believe. And then they can't believe it when they are shorn for the sheep they are. I think I'll BBQ some lamb tonight, wearing my Nikes.

Jeff Pinhey

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Respect
I'll buy more Nike.
Nike is all about the ATHLETES. And the athletes understand what this protest is about. Not only the right moral move - I suspect a good business one in the end. Re focus from the armchair quarterbacks, overweight critics who can go buy their walking shoes at sketchers.

Stand up to stand out to paraphrase what I've read in your newsletters over the year.

Rob Meder

PS shoe dog is the best non fiction book I've read in years if you haven't read it.

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Well done, thanks

Paul Zullo

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I've been a season ticket holder to the Niners since 1979. I saw the entire Kapernick situation unfold. Now what he says he is doing in regards to racial inequality and police treatment of minorities is laudable, it all started as a fraud. He was being a cry-baby because he got benched. When he was asked about it by a rookie reporter he had to come up with something to say, other than being a bad sport.

It is also interesting that John Elway, the GM of the Denver Broncos, offered Kapernick a contract about twenty months ago, but Kapernick turned it down. He wanted more money and to be a starter. SO how can he prove collusion?

Matt Grandi in Marin

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This is an excellent point - "Not only with the CTE issue but the fact that the owners are reinforcing racism with their plantation mind-set. That's right, most of the players are black. Who cares if they're paid a lot. First and foremost they're people."

Bob, you are a true journalist.

Eric Spence

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Great email Bob,

What was the Nike brand yesterday? To me, it had started to become
#UsedToDoIt. It made me think about older people who wore a logo on their clothing as they drink beer and watched the football games. Nike reminded them of the glory days of when they were young, played sports and felt significant. All this Nike backlash we're seeing, is just going to make this campaign more powerful. Nike is choosing sides, they know the younger generation is their future. Wearing Nike is now going to be a statement about your morals and ethic, it will be part of your identity. I'm so blown away by this. #JustDoItAgain

And just for the record, I likely fall in that first camp with Adidas. I'm
pretty sure that my affinity for that brand goes back to my younger days
when I was a wanna-be b-boy poppin and lockin to Run DMC's "My Adidas."

They make me feel cool, and frankly I?m OK with that.

Thanks for all the thought provoking material,

Carl Jacobson
Director, Global Marketing Communications
HARMAN Professional Solutions

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Trump doesn't care about players kneeling; he's pissed because they're playing the wrong anthem at the games.

David Ray

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So much respect for Kaepernick and Nike. Thanks for reminding us how huge this is. Let's hope those big brands follow.
Kris Long

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Your analysis left out one crucial fact: Kaepernick is bad at football.

Best,

Charlie Gaylord

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Thank you for this one.

Sincerely. Thank you.

Brandon Chamberlain

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It's a crime to be white. Why would anyone who sees the light put their name down on big brothers docket. Nike don't give a damn. They just want sell more product to the degenerative, half bread youth that thinks taking a stand in being gangsta is buying more shit with stickers still on it. California is crawling with these young, angry baby debtors.

The enemy should have one, again..

Tim

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Your point about Nike would be a little stronger if they didn't have a deal with the NFL until 2028. That deal was announced in March of this year. Interesting timeline and all about business.

Morgan Hunter
London, Ontario

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No doubt about it, this is one of the gutsiest marketing decisions since the Apple Super Bowl ad where the guy throws the hammer at the big screen.

Your assessment of the NFL losing its grip is totally accurate, but you miss one major cause; the old knockers who made owning season tickets a culture symbol of success, are all over 85 years old and dying. Most that are still alive, can't handle the walk from specialparking to their elevated seats. Most are selling their tickets each week to ticket brokers , pocketing a profit and watching at home on their big screen, in their LazyBoy lounger.

Their successful small business, that is now run by their spoiled oldest son or daughter may no longer buy tickets with write off entertainment dollars, which over the years became a perk for the owner and was his "family time", once per week.

Nike has and will capture the "gestalt "of the moment , better than any other entity in our current culture. This will start the avalanche of sentiment that will kill Trump at his tweeting heart beat. He won't be able to control this narrative. It will be a beautiful thing to watch.
The owners have lost control of their ability to determine their destiny. This will also be a beautiful thing to watch.

Jerry Jones will be lucky to escape with his life. His plantation may burn down.

The real suckers may end up being all the tax payers who are on the hook for the repayment of the stadium bonds in every major city. What if you can't fill all those seats at $200 per game, because the new generation of fan only makes $55K per year and has no health care insurance? Who says the spending priority/pattern will continue in the same manner? Example, I spent many dollars to teach my kids to ski/snowboard. Every weekend I sent them up on a bus for lessons and free style skiing. They loved it. Today neither of them go because a tow ticket and transportation is over a $150 per day.

Skiing has become too expensive for their spending priority list of must have experiences. This will happen to the NFL. You may like K. Mack , who just got traded to the Bears, but can one guy be worth $30 million per year as a percentage of your total gross , in a market like Chicago, where you might get shot, going home from the game?

This event/decision by Nike will be the biggest thing since Obama getting elected and setting a new paradigm of who gets to sit at the table of the daily dialogue for the evening news and social media air waves

Thomas Geimer

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What kind of messed up world do we live in? Apparently, one where we ignore lessons already learned, long ago- and many times over.

Muhammad Ali was a pariah, excoriated for his anti-war stance, shunned because he told the truth about being treated like a second-class citizen in his own country... until he wasn't. That's right, America figured out that the Vietnam war was unjust, a mistake. And that Ali was right about racial discrimination. After America woke up, Ali became a national treasure, cheered by millions as he highlighted the Olympic torch ceremony in Atlanta.

At another Olympic Games in Mexico City, Tommie Smith and John Carlos were sent home for raising their gloved fists in another truthful protest. Avery Brundage and the powers in place- exclusively old, white, male powers- decided that was the wrong time and place to protest. Brundage did everything possible to discredit the two athletes. Today, Smith and Carlos are seen as heroes. Speaking the truth in the most difficult of situations, they displayed bravery of the highest order.

Today, we watch as Colin Kaepernick draws nationwide ire. As does Nike for supporting his courage. Kaep speaks the truth at an inconvenient time. He should have just enjoyed his multi-millionaire status and "played the damn game", according to the keyboard patriots littering my Facebook feed. His actions are seen as unpatriotic and disgraceful to flag and country by about one-third of our population.

At the same time, that same 33% of Americans unflaggingly support the most famous draft dodger in the country. They heap praise on a president whose only real accomplishment so far has been to enrich himself and his cronies.

History has a funny way of repeating itself. And it always comes as a surprise to those who refuse to learn from it. Being on the right side of history in a changing time can be terribly challenging. It takes true courage, the ability to do unpopular things, to take radical stands.

Let's recognize Nike for doing what musicians used to do- recognizing some changes that our country needs, and helping to lead the way. I know I'll be looking back over the next few years to see who picked up the flag and followed, and who didn't.

-Mark K. Day

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Can't wait to buy a pair of Kaepernick's Nikes.

Tim Fricke

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