For months, Colin Kaepernick's mission to educate and empower the youth was pushed to the back of everybody's minds due to an ongoing beef with the National Football League. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback finally reached a settlement in his collusion case against league owners that he claimed conspired to keep him out of a job. With that lawsuit over, one of Kaepernick's most powerful supporters decided to make a huge statement.
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Nike released the limited edition Kaepernick Icon Jersey in support of the free agent NFL quarterback. The all-black football jersey doesn't have a team or league logo on it aside from the iconic Nike swoosh, and simply shows Kaepernick's name and jersey number in white lettering. After the social justice warrior and Nike posted it online, the jersey sold out in less than 24 hours.
This latest 'True to 7' campaign appeals heavily to people who believe in Kaepernick's message, but this is actually the second Kaepernick jersey to be released and immediately sell out. The #ImWithKap jerseys are similar to Nike's rendition, but the proceeds of those sales go towards Kaepernick's Know Your Rights campaign that teaches young people self-empowerment and proper ways to interact with law enforcement.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James first wore this new jersey prior to Super Bowl LIII before it went up for public sale. When Nike's new game jersey finally hit their website for $150, many people received it with overwhelmingly positive feedback. However, there is a huge group of fans who don't agree with Nike profiting off of Kaepernick's image and likeness simply for their own financial benefit.
@Nike are you donating any funds from the profits of the @Kaepernick7 Icon jersey sales or are you just capitalizing on movement and lack of truth and justice in these communities? pic.twitter.com/J3QGFRyvMh
— April C Washington (@apro4real) February 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/BrotherDave26/status/1098389966692876288
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Kaepernick was the face Nike's 'Just Do It' 30th anniversary campaign this past fall, which was met with equal parts criticism and praise. This latest release proves that Nike believes that the positives in Kaepernick's message will far outweigh the negative media, and they, like Kaepernick, aren't planning on going anywhere.
https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/1098452225217699840
Despite raising into the spotlight after kneeling during the now-famous National Anthem protests, Kaepernick has done plenty to prove that he's actually living out his vision. His Million Dollar Pledge involved donating $1 million of his own money to 37 different organizations fighting against racial inequality and police brutality. Kaepernick has received numerous honors for his work, including the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award back in 2017.
These new jerseys are still for sale — you can sign up for alerts here — and are sure to flood social media with people showing off their support for Kaepernick over the next few weeks. On the same day the world watched Duke superstar Zion Williamson completely destroy one of Nike's shoes, these jersey sales will certainly be good for business despite many who don't agree with their for-profit intentions.
This goes to show that if an NFL team does sign Kaepernick, jersey sales for that team could be absolutely gigantic.
