Despite the polarizing nature surrounding the announcement, it is clear Nike is right and smart for siding with free agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Nike revealed on Labor Day Kaepernick is going to be the face of the 30th anniversary of the company’s “Just Do It Campaign”. On Wednesday, Nike released the advertisement they will broadcast during the NFL’s opening game of the 2018 regular season between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles.

Nike’s decision to re-sign Kaepernick on an endorsement deal and prominently feature him on the corporation’s major advertisements going forward was controversial because of the attention Kaepernick has garnered the past two years.

Kaepernick has been a free agent since March 2017. He is currently in a collusion case against the NFL because he believes they collectively conspired to keep him out of the league, according to a Aug. 30 CBS Sports article.

Kaepernick began to kneel during the presentation of the U.S. flag and playing of the national anthem during the 2016 NFL season. The former San Francisco 49er said his protest was in response to the police brutality and racial oppression black Americans face.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said, according to a Aug. 27, 2016 article on the NFL’s official website. “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.”

Although Kaepernick made it clear his protest only concerned police brutality and racial injustices black Americans face, his biggest critics and detractors have pointed to his kneeling as a disrespectful gesture towards the flag, past and present military personnel and the U.S.

This includes President Donald Trump.

“I have followed it and I think it is personally not a good thing,” Trump said, according to a Aug. 29, 2016 article on the NFL’s official website. “I think it is a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try, it is not gonna happen.”

Trump stood by his sentiments after Nike’s announcement.

“I think it is a terrible message that they are sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there is a reason for them doing it,” Trump said, according to a Tuesday The Daily Caller article. “But, I think as far as sending a message, I think it is a terrible message and a message that should not be sent. There is no reason for it.”

Nike is right by publicly backing Kaepernick, even though it has alienated certain segments of their customer base. They are intuitive and open minded enough to know his protest was never about disrespecting military personnel. Kaepernick’s protest is all about shedding light on a significant issue in the U.S. and uplifting oppressed communities.

That is an admirable and necessary cause to stand behind.

“I loved it,” senior communications/journalism student Mateo Avila said. “I thought it was great to see they did not let go of Kaepernick after the protest he was in. It was really a powerful message for such a billion dollar company. It says a lot about the company and it is going to help with what Kaepernick is trying to do.”

Kaepernick’s movement is more than kneeling. He donated $1 million of his own money towards organizations working in oppressed communities, according to a Jan 31. CNN article. The exposure Nike has and will continue to create will bring even more attention to an important issue while the money Kaepernick makes from Nike will assist him with funding exploited neighborhoods.

“A couple months ago Kaepernick gave his own money to a Know Your Rights campaign,” senior political science student Elijah Bebora said. “I think a lot of people need to learn that this is bigger than Kaepernick. This involves the whole league. Him being at the forefront of this push is not really about him. It’s more about the movement, it’s about equal justice, and police accountability. It’s not about him, it’s about the movement.

Nike made a risky decision. It already has and will continue to estrange those who opposed Kaepernick’s protest. However, Nike has the emotions of their stakeholders in mind. The corporation generated more than $43 million in media exposure within the first 24 hours of Kaepernick’s campaign, with a large majority of it being neutral or positive, according to a Tuesday Bloomberg article. They made several tough decisions when they continued to endorse professional golfer Tiger Woods after his personal aberrations since Nov. 2009, which included his infidelity and a DUI arrest. Kaepernick’s actions have been unquestionably more positive than Woods.

Professional tennis player Serena Williams, another Nike endorsed athlete who also received public support from the company after she was unfairly attacked when the French tennis federation banned the black suit she wore during the 2018 French Open, commended the corporation’s move. She recognizes the importance of Kaepernick’s movement and how critical it was for Nike to back him.

“He has done a lot for the African American community, and it has cost him a lot,” Williams said according to Wednesday ESPN article. “It is sad. But, he continues to do the best that he can to support. Having a huge company back him, you know, could be controversial for this company, but they are not afraid. I feel like that was a really powerful statement to a lot of other companies.”

Nike is making the smart and commendable decision by publicly advocating for an activist in Kaepernick who is fighting against systematic racial oppression and financially uplifting oppressed communities. Any other action would have been intolerable.