Athletic shoe giant Nike has debuted its new “Just Do It” ad featuring former NFL player and original anthem protester Colin Kaepernick. The ad comes only days before the kickoff of the 2018 NFL regular season.
The ad features an extreme close-up of Kaepernick gazing into the camera with the caption, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” over his face, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Kaepernick has had an endorsement contract with the sportswear maker since 2011, but has not played professional football since the end of the 2016 NFL season.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback invented the protests during the anthem when he took a knee during the song throughout the 2016 season. But he hasn’t played since that year as once he turned free agent at the end of the season, he subsequently found no team interested in signing him.
By 2017 Kaepernick charged the league with “colluding” to keep him from pursuing his NFL career and filed a grievance against the NFL with the players association. After dozens of depositions were taken, an arbitrator determined last month that the case would go to trial.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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