Nike makes Colin Kaepernick the face of its annual ‘Just Do It’ campaign

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Sportswear company Nike is making expelled NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th annual “Just Do It” campaign, according to a tweet the athlete posted Monday afternoon.

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #Justdoit,” Kaepernick tweeted along with a photo of an image from the ad campaign.


“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,” Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN.

As the official face of Nike, Kaepernick joins a small group of others who have held the coveted position, including Serena Williams, LeBron James, Odell Beckham Jr., and Shaquem Griffin.

Fisanotti said the campaign is specifically directed at 15- to 17-year-olds.

“We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce ‘Just Do It’ to a new generation of athletes,” Fisanotti added.

Kaepernick has been on Nike’s payroll since 2011, but had not been used as a spokesman or model in two years since his controversial move to take a knee when the national anthem was played at the start of football games.

The then-San Francisco 49ers player said the move was meant to protest racial injustice. Other players on other teams began kneeling, too, and Kaepernick became known as the father of the movement.

President Trump slammed Kaepernick for not showing patriotism and pressured the NFL to take punitive action. No team signed him as a free agent ahead of the 2017 season. Kaepernick sued the NFL owners on grounds of collusion to keep him out.

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