Two colleges have severed ties with Nike over its decision to create a “Just Do It” ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, while a third is contemplating such a move.
Truett McConnell University (TMU), a small liberal arts college in Cleveland, Georgia, announced that it will stop carrying Nike gear in its campus store and that any remaining products will be donated to Wounded Warriors and the Fraternal Order of Police. TMU President Dr. Emir Caner said in a statement that Nike’s “mocks our troops.”
In a statement, Caner said that “if Nike chooses to apologize to our troops and to our law enforcement officers, then — and only then — will TMU reconsider their brand. In the meanwhile, let us honor true heroes, those who protect us daily, some even sacrificing their own lives. They are the true heroes.”
That move followed a similar decision by College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. At a recent women’s volleyball match, the team wore plain gray T-shirts with the school’s name printed on the back, instead of the usual Nike apparel.
A more significant repercussion could come if Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, follows through on his threat to drop Nike, since the school recently signed a more lucrative deal with the company through 2024.
Falwell told USA Today that “if Nike really does believe that law enforcement in this country is unfair and biased, I think we will look around. If we have a contract, we’ll honor it, but we strongly support law enforcement and strongly support our military and veterans who died to protect our freedoms and if the company really believes what Colin Kaepernick believes, it’s going to be hard for us to keep doing business with them.”
