Wednesday, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to react to shoe giant Nike’s ad campaign with activist free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Portnoy explained Nike’s controversial decision as a move to “stay edgy,” which he said he approves of as a Nike shareholder because everyone is now talking about the company.
“I think when you are a huge company like Nike, it is hard to stay edgy, hard to stay on top for that long. This brings edge to them. I think the old Nike that a lot of people know is not really the Nike that it is,” Portnoy told host Tucker Carlson. “Like you see pictures of the big and the rich guy burning his Nike socks that looked like they weren’t washed and was a pair of socks from the 1980s.”
He later stated, “I don’t think they care about Civil Rights. I think they care about selling shoes. If I’m a shareholder, I don’t care about anything but me putting money in. This is a business decision. Anybody who is saying Nike cares about Civil Rights or doing the right thing, you can argue that, but that is not what I’m arguing. I’m saying as a shareholder, I like the move. Everyone is talking about it. I think it makes them relevant.”
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