On Monday it was announced that Nike has selected former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, to be the face of it’s 30th Anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. The folks over at Nike told the world with the announcement that this is bigger than shoes and clothes playboy, it’s a lifestyle. Colin tweeted out, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIT”
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018
It’s got to mean something right? If “Just Do It” is goin’ to be their slogan it can’t just be about playin’ the game because everybody doesn’t play the game. It’s about what’s real in life and that’s why this endorsement is so profound. It isn’t manufactured simply to sell shoes. It’s genuinely authentic because Nike’s swoopin’ up public enemy No.1. Well…the public enemy of the old establishment that is startin’ to lose their grip of America and Nike’s decided to help usher them out of the door by linkin’ up strong with someone that actually cares about America and what it’s supposed to stand for.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that Kaepernick and Nike agreed to a contract despite the fact that Colin had already been with the apparel company since 2011. Robinson reported that interest from other companies pushed the deal into fruition. The contract gives the former quarterback his own branded line includin’ shoes, shirts, jerseys and more. It’s like ole boy has never left the game because the contract is worth millions per year plus royalties. He may as well have been ballin’ out of control with the way Nike came to him. However, in reality, he did ball out of the control. He did what he was destined to do and that was to make an impact in this world and now he’s bein’ rewarded for his sacrifice. “Won’t he do it!”
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Ole boy told Steve Wych of NFL Media two years ago when he started the protest, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
If that doesn’t embody the “Just Do It” campaign I don’t know what else can. Nike isn’t crazy! They know what the drill is. Be authentic or stay at home. They’ve got the biggest star in all of sports on their team and he’s the most vocal superstar athlete we’ve seen since Muhammad Ali and it’s not negatively affectin’ sales. As a matter of fact, it’s boostin’ sales. LeBron is speakin’ out at every turn against racism and social injustice and it’s empowerin’ our youth to do the same.
And guess what playa, he’s got a lifetime deal worth a billion dollars. Just Do It isn’t just a ad campaign it’s a lifestyle. I’ve been Nike Brand loyal since 1986!! That’s means that I’ve bought or worn nothin’ but Nike for the past 32 years. That’s two years before the “Just Do It” campaign was born bruh. When I was a sophomore at Purdue University livin’ in Cary Quard I had my boy, Garfield Lawrence, from Cleveland to take, what I called, my Nike poster in my room. He was the only kid on campus with a real camera. Everybody else had the Polaroid joints. He was the campus’ black DJ and for some reason the dun had a camera. So I’ve been true to the game ever since.
With this move Nike is about to convert a ton of folks over to Nike because this is a statement not only about shoes and gear but about America and what it means to be free. The First Amendment gave Colin and others the right to peaceably protest and Nike just endorsed that freedom.
If nothin’ else we’re about to see the biggest black conversion to a brand since black folks dropped it’s support for the Republican party in 1960 to support the Democrats even if they couldn’t freely vote. Most folks don’t know that black people were heavily supportive of the Republican Party before 1960 because it was the party of Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. Up until that point everybody rocked with the Republicans. However, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Atlanta on a traffic stop and thrown into state prison instead of county or city jail in hopes that he would be killed while incarcerated. His wife, Corretta Scott King, reached out to the Republican party and Richard Nixon, who was runnin’ for president at the time to ask for help in gettin’ her husband out of from prison. He ignored her calls so she called John F. Kennedy, who was the Democrat, and he sent his brother Robert to get him out. Thus, black folks became loyal to the Democratic party. Nike just got Kaepernick out of isolation and it’s Chris Brown now. “On and Poppin’!” You’re about to see more boyz and girlz wearin’ Nike than you’ve ever seen before.
Think about it playas, Kaepernick just got paid for doin’ the right thing and standin’ up for what he believes in. Great example!!! “Just Do It” and stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
2) Put it where the goats can get it: verb phrase – to make it as elementary as possible. To put it at ground level so everyone can understand it.
3) Ole boy: noun – the person that I’m currently talkin’ about.
The G is excluded from the endings of all words because the G is near and dear to my heart because I’m from “The G” which is Gary, Indiana. So I only use the G when I’m talkin’ about “The G!”
The caption under the photo isn’t real but its real talk!