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Former San Francisco quarterback Kaepernick, the first NFL
player to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against
racism, posted a black-and-white close-up of himself on social
media on Monday featuring the Nike logo and "Just do it" along
with the quote, "Believe in something. Even if it means
sacrificing everything."
The hashtag #NikeBoycott was among the top trending topics on
Twitter on Tuesday morning, with users posting images of
themselves burning and ripping their Nike shoes and apparel.
"First the @NFL forces me to choose between my favorite sport
and my country. I chose country. Then @Nike forces me to choose
between my favorite shoes and my country. Since when did the
American Flag and the National Anthem become offensive?",
Twitter user @sclancy79 said in a post retweeted 16,000 times.
Others took positively to Nike taking a stand on social issues -
"dear @Nike I appreciate you for standing with @Kaepernick7",
vlogger Casey Neistat tweeted.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been critical of athletes taking
a knee during the national anthem and has said he would love to
see NFL owners fire football players who disrespect the American
flag.
Nike, who confirmed on Monday that Kaepernick was part of the
campaign and called him "one of the inspirational athletes of
his generation", did not immediately respond to requests for
comment on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru, editing by Patrick
Graham)
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