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People are saying Nike should have featured Pat Tillman in its new ad about 'sacrificing everything' starring Colin Kaepernick (NKE)
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Some critics of Nike's ad starring Colin Kaepernick say the company should have instead featured former NFL player and army ranger Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan in 2004.
Many on the right argue that Tillman better embodies the advertisement's tagline: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
Tillman's widow has asked that people not pit her late husband against protesting NFL players in the past, saying in a 2017 statement: "The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one's heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for."
Some critics of Nike's ad starring Colin Kaepernick are arguing that a different former NFL player should be featured in the company's new "Just Do It" ad.
On Monday, Kaepernick shared an image of his face on Twitter, with the words: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." The image was retweeted by Nike, reportedly kicking off a new multi-year deal between the former NFL player and the sportswear company.
Kaepernick was one of the first athletes to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality, sparking a movement of players doing the same. Many on the right, including President Donald Trump, have since criticized NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem, with Trump calling for players to be fired.
The Nike ad immediately sparked controversy, with many critics rallying around a different former NFL player: Pat Tillman. Tillman died by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, two years after he left the NFL to enlist in the military.
Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036796903734882304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I normally keep politics off Twitter, but as a Marine, I felt I had to share this. @Nike , some punk kneeling for a false cause isn’t sacrificing anything. It isn’t heroic. It isn’t anything. Pat Tillman however, is someone your company should look more into. pic.twitter.com/N3umvuq6Xg Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036805824910426112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Never buying another @Nike product ever again! Hippocrates is the word. Screw Kap-Whatever his name is. Pat Tillman gave up everything, not Kap Idiot. #BoycottNike Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036806653331611648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Nike is pure trash for putting kap on the #JustDoIt campaign. God bless Pat Tillman! #BoycottNike pic.twitter.com/5jBTSVrOW3
Among the people tweeting about Tillman was Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, who posted a photo of the former NFL player in Arizona Cardinals gear, with the caption: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036746585072381952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Believe in something.
Even if it means sacrificing everything. pic.twitter.com/xWtWZQLYil
Tillman himself was a free thinker who had criticized the US military, something many on the left were quick to point out. After Tillman died in an incident in which he was shot by his platoonmates in 2004, the US government reportedly obscured information surrounding his death from the public and Tillman's own family.
Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036754106759692288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
GOP Congressman uses Pat Tillman to criticize Colin Kaepernick & Nike.
Though we can't know Tillman's view, he was unabashedly liberal and last year his widow condemned Trump for politicizing his death to criticize those in the NFL who take a knee during the national anthem. https://t.co/XqWxPtKor1 Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036783353796734976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
To the ones posting a picture of Pat Tillman with the slogan from the Kaepernick Nike ad,
I hope you idiots realize that Tillman would've fully supported Kaepernick's stance on social justice.
Read up on the guy before looking stupid. Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1036784033106149376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
tfw you haven't googled Pat Tillman https://t.co/39aOSsq2O0
Further, Tillman's widow, Marie Tillman, has asked in the past that Tillman not be pitted against NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
"The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one's heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for. Even if they didn't always agree with those views," Tillman said in a statement to CNN following Trump's condemnation of the protests in 2017.
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