What a peculiar place we find ourselves in 2018. Donald Trump’s abhorrent presidency has sent the world spinning off its axis, dissolving traditional ideological fault lines and making allies of once bitter enemies. The strangest bedfellows abound. Robert Mueller, infiltrator of anti-war groups and enabler of the destruction of Iraq, is now a liberal hero thanks to his ongoing collusion investigation against Trump. James Comey, right-wing ideologue and supporter of torture, also now finds himself on a liberal pedestal thanks to his vocal opposition to the Trump presidency, and to Trump personally.
The latest odd conflation? Nike and Colin Kaepernick. It was announced yesterday that the clothing company have made Kaepernick the face of their latest ad campaign. To be honest, knowing what we know about Kaepernick—the football star who sacrificed his career in the NFL by using his stardom to shine a light on the horrific violence that African-Americans suffer at the hands of the American police force—it’s pretty powerful stuff:
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018
Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of branding for North America, was quoted by ESPN as saying: ‘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.’
