Labels — Don’t Do It: What Nike, Kaepernick, and the NFL Reveal About Ourselves and Society

What’s the subtext behind Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad? The media today is noisy with claims of hypocrisy, outrage, and allegations of racism. I try to avoid lumping people and groups together — a natural inclination in us humans we call “prejudice.” It comes naturally to us, because it’s easier for our minds to collectively group things together.
My own upbringing was confusing, and perhaps, that’s why I look at the big picture. A former Republican since before I could vote, I was a card-carrying, impressionable Dittohead who truly believed Rush Limbaugh was right about everything. This despite the fact that my father was a middle-class democrat — when he voted, that is.
But experience taught me something different, and I heeded the lessons. I’ve associated with the ultra-wealthy, ultra-poor, entrepreneurs, farmers, and even a murderer. Their stories were anything but simple and they had good reasons to act, believe, and do what they did whether others labeled their actions as “good” or “bad.” In the end, I’ve learned that my desire to label any group is just and easy, intellectual out so I don’t have to consider that, at our core, we’re all vulnerable humans with hurts, hopes, and dreams. Except maybe bad drivers.
I don’t know where the desire to simplify comes from. Blame our ancestors: food good, predators bad, potential mates — oh yeah! Yet over the millennia we’ve developed this little thing called the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that allows us to look past labels and see things, or people, as more than just a sum of their components. It allows us to examine the issues more deeply. When it comes to people, we’re a complex weave of our experiences, personalities, beliefs, tendencies, and actions. It’s hard work to look deeper than the surface, and the task uses brain power that the brain would rather use for NFL draft statistics and tracking the multiple story lines on Game of Thrones.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, and assuming you’re not the one person in America who hasn’t watched at least one episode, consider for a moment your most favorite or despised character. Even if you don’t watch GOT, pick a novel, show, or movie that really engages you. Are the characters flat? Is Cerci Lannister pure evil? Is The Hound just a self-centered ass? Is Tyrion only a witty drunk and Theon just a coward?
You know the answer. No.
You might even engage in a lengthy debate over a few cups of mead with anyone who dare simplify these characters to such basic terms. Then why do we simplify real people and events?
Because we’re human, and it’s easier.
At the heart of this current controversy we have Colin Kaepernick, a man who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem during a 49ers’s game in September of 2016. Why did he do it? “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he said in a statement to the press.
What followed next was debate about the First Amendment which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Congress made no law restricting Kaepernick’s protest which I believe he had every right to do. But he’s an employee — a well-paid and famous employee — who is compelled to abide by the rules and regulations of his employer. Freedom of speech is not guaranteed within certain workplaces. A CIA operative can’t go blabbing about black ops in Libya without tremendous repercussions. Whether the NFL can mandate players to stand, sit, or do the Hokey-Pokey during the playing of the National Anthem, I’ll let the courts decide.
More than just an NFL player, Colin Kaepernick is a black man who was adopted and raised by white parents which gives him a unique perspective on race relations in America. There’s evidence that racism is alive and well in the USA, but there’s also evidence that we’ve come a long way since Martin Luther King, Jr proclaimed his dream. Is Kaepernick a hero, a villain, unpatriotic, or ungrateful? You know the answer: no. It’s never that simple and any label affixed says more about the labeler than Kaepernick.
After the 2016 season, Kaepernick found himself without a team. Some have labeled this consequence as proof of racism in the NFL. I understand the where this racism sentiment comes from, but the issue is complex and it had more to do with “just business.” Yes, Kaepernick’s numbers were not stellar during the 2016 season but they weren’t horrible either. If he had numbers like Brees, Rodgers, or Brady, some team might have taken a chance on the star and dealt with the fallout. But his numbers were average and not worthy of the risk. While other quarterbacks with worse numbers maintain employment, Kaepernick was sidelined.
Even for NFL franchises who are rolling in the dough, making the decision to sign a player whose beliefs would alienate many fans is too risky. It wouldn’t matter if those beliefs were kneeling during an anthem or wearing a red, “Make America Great Again” hat during warm up. More than just money, team owners and the NFL are responsible to thousands of employees, vendors, and advertisers. Does this make team owners evil, greedy, patriotic, or monsters? You know the answer. It’s not that simple.
Now Nike comes on the scene and decides to take the liability and make a stand amid its own storied past. By making Kaepernick a spokesman they jeopardize alienating millions of consumers who believe Kaepernick is — here’s the label — unpatriotic. At the same time, they solidify their own brand’s message by taking a stand with those who take risks. Or, maybe they believe the old business adage that all publicity is good publicity, a thought seemingly confirmed by Trump’s campaign.
Some people have stupidly decided to burn their Nike merchandise. I mean, it’s already paid for, so you’re only helping their publicity by doing that. Besides, plenty of people in need could use that gear. So, if you’re inclined to disown Nike, I encourage you to give it away. But you have a right to burn your merchandise, though the local fire marshal might have other thoughts on the matter.
Some on social media are calling the Nike burners racists. Really? Nike has celebrated diversity for years and sponsored athletes of every ethnicity. Up until now, the burners have worn Nike gear without issue. But now they’re racists? It’s the complexity issue all over again. Affixing a simple label to a complex issue is like calling climate change a heat wave. Does that make you racist, patriotic, dumb, or courageous?
But like the USA’s dark past which some point to as reason to not support its flag, Nike has its own skeletons. Moving operations overseas in order to allegedly avoid unions and high-priced labor, Nike has been accused of utilizing sweatshops where workers are oppressed and underpaid. While they claimed they had no control over subcontracted labor, the truth is they did. In 2002 they began auditing their factories looking for deplorable work conditions. Can we forgive them for their past? Is Nike evil, greedy, opportunistic, patriotic, a proponent of social justice, or just capitalistic? You know what they are.
Underscoring all of these labels is the First Amendment. Colin Kaepernick is free to make his stand or to kneel. The NFL has a right to hire or not hire. Nike has a right to make a spokesperson out of whomever they want. You have the right to support, oppose, or act indifferently to all of these — or you can boycott them all. You even have the right to overly simplify complex issues and spew labels. Does that make you brilliant, dumb, patriotic, unpatriotic, American, or a snowflake?
You know the answer. Don’t do it. Just think.