Does Nike Hate America?

The National Football League opens its season on Sunday. Actually, the first game will be Thursday evening, between Atlanta and Philadelphia.

So, what does Nike do? To mark the occasion it has introduced the new face of its #JustDoIt campaign: Colin Kaerpernick.

As you know, Kaepernick was a second rate quarterback who became infamous for refusing to stand in respect of the National Anthem. Then, he was seen wearing socks that portrayed police officers as pigs.

Which leads to the obvious question: why does Nike hate America?

The NFL player protests have damaged the league. The players insist that they are protesting racial injustice, and in particular, they are protesting white police officers who commit crimes against young black men. Unfortunately, they do not own the meaning of their gestures. Unless you believe that the National Anthem was the battle cry that set white police officers to oppress black youths, their protest was misplaced. At the least.

The players insist that they are not disrespecting the nation. And yet, actions speaks for themselves. They mean what they mean, not what you want them to mean. You cannot go around flipping off people and declaring that you are thereby showing affection.

Besides, as has been reported, Kaepernick was simply doing what his girlfriend-- who sympathized with Fidel Castro and with Islamist terrorism-- was telling him to do. He was not a profile in courage. He was whipped.

The tagline of the Kaepernick campaign is: Believe in something. Even if it costs you everything.

At the Powerline blog, John Hinderaker analyzes the meaning of the slogan, under the rubric: Corporate Suicide Watch. He notes that Kepernick is still a multimillionaire. He is not a homeless person living on the streets of San Francisco. By the way, how much is he earning for his role as the new face of the Nike campaign? Do you think that he is doing it for nothing?

Nike apparently thinks Kaepernick has sacrificed everything, which tells you something about 21st century corporate America. Kaepernick is a multimillionaire whose “sacrifice” consisted of kneeling during the National Anthem, wearing socks depicting police officers as pigs, and generally denouncing his country. Which has led to a second career as a leftist spokesman. That is not exactly a contender in the annals of Greatest Sacrifice Ever.

As for the notion that you should believe in something, Hinderaker easily makes a hash of the absurd notion:

Further, Nike’s tag line, “Believe in something,” naturally raises the question: Does it matter what you believe in? Any normal person would say that it does. After all, the worst monsters in human history–Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Nero, Hitler, Amin, bin Laden, Castro–all believed in something. It was just the wrong thing.

So, does corporate America believe in America? Do they feel any debt to the nation that made them into hyperrich oligarchs? Or do they return the favor with hatred?