"Just Do It." You've seen this phrase everywhere- on television, billboards, ads. It's so catchy to say as it has molded into something we say in the norm. This phrase, first coined by in 1988, was a modification of the last words said by Gary Gilmore: "Let's Do It." Fast forward 30 years, the phrase is still staying strong with Nike, as the past few years, this phrase has been getting more attention than ever.
With this phrase having its 30th birthday, Nike decided to do something special with this phrase and put out an ad with Colin Kaepernick on the cover having the words 'Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it'. With many seeing Kaepernick on the cover, there has been both love and hate from this ad. But one question remains as Nike published this controversial ad: did they do the right thing?
Colin Kaepernick has had a very remarkable story since graduating college. Starting in 2011, he led the San Francisco 49ers to one Superbowl but fell short to the rival Baltimore Ravens 34-31. The season after, Kaepernick led to the 49ers to the NFC championship, where one miscue by a receiver made them fall short to another Superbowl. For the following years, Kaepernick started to fall apart, eventually losing the starting job to Blaine Gabbert and get traded to many teams, where he decided to be done with football. Those who aren't football junkies, you will probably remember him as the player that took a knee on the field during the National Anthem.
Regardless of what happened to him before, the past is the past. Since then, Kaepernick has been a phenomenal person. He's been raising money for all different kinds of causes, donated millions upon millions of dollars to help research for these causes and even won the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award for doing all the work he's done. Many call him a racist, rude. But, like me, there are others who call him an idol, an inspiration, someone who should be looked up to as.
So, did Nike do the right thing? Yes, I believe they did. People ar.e just upset because the first thing they associate Colin Kaepernick with is him kneeling on the field. People are missing the message of this ad and how it's supposed to be inspirational for others. There is a very famous idiom that expresses what people are doing: "don't judge a book by its cover." People are seeing Kaepernick and not liking what he's doing because they just see him. They need to dig deeper and see what the actual message of the ad is.
