Nike, the Flag and more Insanity

Several years ago, Colin Kaepernick took a knee on a football field somewhere before a game in what seemed like an act of defiance to bring awareness to police shootings of young black men. His decision was divisive. As a veteran myself and someone who approves of orderly dissent, I championed his decision. I was dismayed that he was most certainly black balled from the NFL. I was also pissed that people would conflate his position with that of someone who disrespected the flag or the troops. I never felt disrespected. Like I said, I approved.

Fast forward to 2019. The country is more divided and its citizens are even more emotional then when Kap first took a knee. The Wall St. Journal made an editorial decision to publish a story that suggests that Kaepernick asked/forced Nike to not create a shoe called the Betsy Ross which had a symbol on the back that contained thirteen stars in a circle which represented the original thirteen colonies that made up the United States. Betsy Ross of course, designed the flag.

If you are still reading, please  indulge me for a second. I want you to pause right here and just think for one moment and ask yourself this: “Why is the Wall St. Journal writing a story about a shoe company nixing one type of shoe”? Ok, now ask yourself, “Why do I even care?”

Now I care a little bit. But not for why you might care. I wanted to buy the shoe because I thought it looked cool. I am disappointed that I cannot have the shoe. So in a sense, I’m upset that Kap used his influence to nix the shoe. But that’s it. I am still going to buy Nike’s. They make the best shoes and I want to 1) give my feet the best comfort and 2) look good in the process.

I think it’s stupid for Kaepernick, assuming this story is true, to halt the production of the shoe. Come on Kaepernick. Was your protest about the flag or about police shooting? Again though, who fucking cares!?!? It’s one shoe! Our brave congressman across this country are now taking a stand. The uber athletic Ted Cruz swore off Nike. I saw several old timers sporting New Balance on twitter – as if they weren’t wearing New Balance last week. Even worse, Governor Ducey from Arizona pulled tax incentives from Nike that were used to coax Nike to build a manufacturing plant in Goodyear, AZ. So Nike makes one decision that the Governor does not agree with and the Governor makes a decision that could eliminate the potential for 500 new jobs.

Our leaders felt it prudent to take a stand against a shoe company and in the process, inspired people on the right to get angry about this unimportant event. And because our electorate have devolved over the last decade to mindless chimps, they now view the shoe debacle once again as a partisan thing. Kaepernick of course, represents the flag hating commies on the left and the politicians taking these ridiculous stands represent the flag toting rootin tootin patriots on the right.  “Let’s kill jobs to own the libs.”

This reminds me of last weeks outrage when Megan Rapinoe stated she “wasn’t going to the fucking White House” if the US Women’s Team won the World Cup. Suddenly, Republicans decided that the team wasn’t worth watching anymore even though the team has represented our nation incredibly over the past FIVE World Cups. I almost feel sorry for the folks who cannot find joy in watching our country dominate a sport like this team does. Never mind that Trump has eroded LGBTQ rights that the community has fought decades to achieve and that Rapinoe is gay.  Never mind that your daughters might want to be all around bad asses someday too and these women are the perfect example for your daughters to emulate.

Fucking shit America! What the fuck is wrong with us?!?!?!?! At what point do we collectively stop reacting so intensely and insane to every little fucking story that some news organization puts out? When are we going to stop taking a side every damn time a stupid story like this gets published?

I wanted the damn shoe! I’m not happy about it. But I’m not going to stop buying the best shoes on the planet and instead, spend my money on Nike’s German rival Adidas (unless Adidas makes better shoes – which they never will by the way).

Before Nike put out the Kaepernick ad a few months ago, you probably looked at Nike in one of two ways. To some, Nike might have been this giant corporate behemoth that exploits child labor but still sells their shoes at a premium. To others, Nike has behind some of the best and most inspirational messaging and marketing of our time. Nike made Michael Jordan (or vice versa) the iconic cultural figure of our generation. Nike’s motto “Just Do It” may be the best tag line of all time by any company. Nike has always stood for perseverance. For  running that extra lap. For staying late at practice to get more reps. For going the extra mile to achieve your goals. Not to sound cheesy, but I literally think about and apply the slogan “Just Do It” all the time when I am faced with adversity. I also don’t think it can be understated how much Nike has done for women’s sports and the empowerment of women in general. Think of the Serena Williams ads or what Nike has done for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

Nike is an American company with an American story as American as apple pie. Nike should be judged by its entire body of work and not the decision about one shoe that you would not have even cared about had the Wall St. Journal chose not to publish the dumb story.

I’m not trying to write Nike’s next commercial here. I’m simply saying that there’s no reason for people to allow this story to somehow impact their feelings or habits because this is not supposed to matter. At all. If you have this much passion for the flag, I implore you to please direct that passion at real problems in this country. There’s plenty of real things to care about. Just do it.