US NFL protest player to be face of new Nike ad campaign

Colin Kaepernick first started the kneeling protests in 2016

An American football star who sparked a furore by kneeling during the national anthem has been unveiled as the new face of a major advertising campaign.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will front Nike’s “Just Do It” 30th anniversary campaign, reports said. In 2016 Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem in protest at police violence against African-Americans.

Many other players followed suit but the protest has divided the country. President Donald Trump has called players who “disrespect” the US flag “sons of bitches” and called for them to be sacked.

The Nike adverts show Kaepernick with the slogan: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Kaepernick is one of a number of sports stars – including National Football League (NFL) players Odell Beckham Jr and Shaquem Griffin, as well as tennis star Serena Williams – to appear in the 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign.

On Monday the star posted the advert and the slogan on his Twitter account.  Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of brand for North America, was quoted by cable sports network ESPN as saying: “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.”

Kaepernick, 30, signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in 2011 and has been kept on its payroll throughout the kneeling controversy, ESPN reported.

The player opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 and has not played since. He is currently suing the NFL claiming he is being kept out of the league because of his part in the protests.

In May this year, the NFL announced that players who knelt for the national anthem would be fined under a new policy.

The league said players not willing to stand for The Star-Spangled Banner could stay in the changing rooms until it had been performed.

The NFL also vowed to “impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem”. – bbc.com