Recently, Nike has been a socially hot potato in the United States. It is because Nike selected Colin Kaepernick as a new model of Nike, with the slogan ‘Believe in Something, even if it means sacrificing everything.’ Colin Kaepernick is a superstar of NFL (National Football League) who played as a quarterback for 6 years. However, when the U.S. national anthem was played in the exhibition game in 2016, he knelt instead of saluted, to protest police's discriminatory treatment towards African Americans and the racism in the United States. Colin Kaepernick, at the center of the controversy, is he a U.S. desecrater or a brave young man who stands against racism?

 

          There’s no doubt that Kaepernick’s action was not wrong since an individual has a right to speak his opinion regarding social issues freely. At that time, there were a lot of incidents where African Americans were killed by excessive response of the police. In this regard, his action spread over the sports games. Furthermore, he is a famous athlete who keeps criticizing racism. In the status quo where injustice accidents happened repeatedly, he just raised his voice up in a peaceful way. Nobody can criticize an individual’s right to express their own opinion.

However, the actions after the exhibition games were in contrast to the attitude that he previously showed to the public. He was a man who showed his opinion against racism through his social media, and he even put it in practice in public. However, he spoke that he would not vote in the presidential election in 2016. Since the right to vote is one of the best ways to show civil opinion and is regarded as one of the most important civil rights advocates, this is contrary to what he said before. This remark also caused enormous controversy over the country. Furthermore, he once again saluted during the US national anthem since many spectators did not come to see the games. The man who once led the peaceful protest at the sports games finally ended the peaceful protest by himself.

         

          As there is a lot of public criticism over selecting Colin Kaepernick as a new model of Nike, Nike declared that he is suited for Nike’s slogan, which showed challenge and resistance. Like they said, his first action was brave like the slogan, ‘Believe in Something even if it means sacrificing everything.’ showed us. However, there is some doubt about whether his actions after the exhibition game were appropriate for ‘Even if it means sacrificing everything.’ He is neither a nation desecrater nor a brave young man. He is just a man who prioritized his belief above his profits. Therefore, he is not the right person for Nike’s spirit, which is Just Do It.