Kaep enhances his job prospects by taking on Betsy Ross

[Freddie's Dead]

Colin Kaepernick began a new PR campaign for a job in the NFL.  He's taking on Betsy Ross and the original American flag now (you just can't make this <stuff> up):

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nike-pulls-betsy-ross-flag-shoes-after-kaepernick-complaint-report-n1025626

[Happy]

It's dumbfounding why Nike listens to Kapernick, who is an extremely polarizing figure that will never play football again.  And the few seasons he played, he had marginal success.  Nike is a huge international name, but pulling a shoe because Kaperdick cried is not a winning strategy. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

He made some strong arguments for kneeling.  I didn't agree with them, and reasonable minds could.  But, this is too far.  Just completely absurd.  

[JoPar_v2]

This would better fit in PPP no?

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Hmmm, I think I'd be more upset at the KKK for using our flag as their symbol, and Nike for being such wusses, but that's just my take.  I actually had no idea they were using that flag as a symbol.  Disgusting stuff

[blacklabel]

That's a bit much, I think. I mean, if you wanted, you could nitpick all sorts of things throughout history and eventually find some kind of negative connotation to it. I obviously don't agree with any white nationalist groups using that flag to identify their group/beliefs or whatever, but I also don't agree that it should be pulled off shelves just because it depicts a flag that was used during a time when slavery was legal. That's not what the flag is signifying. Kinda reminds me of how certain people wanna remove certain words from old books because they're offensive. That's just part of American history, you can't rewrite it now, you can only learn from it and move forward.

[SoCal Deek]

The country is at full employment! Isn’t there something we can find for this d-bag to do? 

[MJS]

8 minutes ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

Hmmm, I think I'd be more upset at the KKK for using our flag as their symbol, and Nike for being such wusses, but that's just my take.  I actually had no idea they were using that flag as a symbol.  Disgusting stuff

Yeah, I'm with you.

[K-9]

11 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

It's dumbfounding why Nike listens to Kapernick, who is an extremely polarizing figure that will never play football again.  And the few seasons he played, he had marginal success.  Nike is a huge international name, but pulling a shoe because Kaperdick cried is not a winning strategy. 

Kaepernick is popular with Nike’s number one targeted demographic. 

[thenorthremembers]

Looks like I will be buying more and more Under Armour from now on.

[Gugny]

I think this was a publicity stunt by Nike.  I've been on Kaep's side throughout the majority of his ordeal.

 

But this is stupid.  And to think that a company like Nike would listen to Colin Kaepernick, to me, is also stupid.

 

I'd be shocked if this entire Betsy Ross thing wasn't orchestrated.

 

Shameful.

[thunderingsquid]

If he wants to protest something, try kids in cages.  That would be a better use of his time and "stature" what's left of it. 

 

 

[Happy]

1 minute ago, K-9 said:

Kaepernick is popular with Nike’s number one targeted demographic. 

 

I understand he is popular with a specific demographic.  The biggest problem I see is that Nike is so big, it has multiple demographics which may take exception to pulling a shoe because it has a Betsy Ross flag on it.  What if Nike becomes unpopular (for some reason) with a demographic?  If it loses others because of this instance, Nike could end up losing a lot of business, sponsors, etc and be replaced by New Balance, Adidas, Under Armor and the like...no shortage of competitors.  Nike will not go under, but it will have a PR problem that will take a while to resolve and business to win back.  

 

For example, Michael Jordan did not disparage political affiliations he did not agree with because he said those folks need to buy shoes, too.   The Air Jordan was successful and not polarizing...it simply targeted basketball players.

 

Brands of any product are wise to avoid targeting one primary group of people, and especially activists, since it is just not good business.  Focus on sports only.

[K-9]

1 minute ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

I understand he is popular with a specific demographic.  The biggest problem I see is that Nike is so big, it has multiple demographics which may take exception to pulling a shoe because it has a Betsy Ross flag on it.  What if Nike becomes unpopular (for some reason) with a demographic?  If it loses others because of this instance, Nike could end up losing a lot of business, sponsors, etc and be replaced by New Balance, Adidas, Under Armor and the like...no shortage of competitors.  Nike will not go under, but it will have a PR problem that will take a while to resolve and business to win back.  

 

For example, Michael Jordan did not disparage political affiliations he did not agree with because he said those folks need to buy shoes, too.   The Air Jordan was successful and not polarizing...it simply targeted basketball players.

 

Brands of any product are wise to avoid targeting one primary group of people, and especially activists, since it is just not good business.  Focus on sports only.

You said you were dumbfounded and I was just offering some clarification. 

 

I appreciate all the food for thought in your post. I’ll leave that to you and others to discuss further. 

[Royale with Cheese]

All right all right let's all calm down until we hear from Betsy herself. 

[Alphadawg7]

31 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

Colin Kaepernick began a new PR campaign for a job in the NFL.  He's taking on Betsy Ross and the original American flag now (you just can't make this <stuff> up):

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nike-pulls-betsy-ross-flag-shoes-after-kaepernick-complaint-report-n1025626

 

1. Yeah, this is not a direction I would go if I was him and wanting to get a job back in the NFL.  Absolutely nothing wrong with his concerns, and many others had them too.  However, for a guy who was a political lighting rod to the point teams just wouldn't touch him, this is an arena he should stay out of if he wants any chance of getting an NFL Job (which at this point I think most likely will never happen).
2. He is right though, and so are the others with the same concerns.  The racist under belly has ruined a lot of things by adopting it as a symbol of their hate campaign.  Even the Nazi Swastika used to be a peaceful symbol...confederate flag had its history "forgotten" and made its way into Southern culture before being reminded it was a flag of hate again thanks to the recent rise of white nationalism (at least public rise), etc etc.  

So while a lot of people will just see this flag for its historical value of a birth of this nation, there are plenty of people using it promote very negative agendas and will be seen as such by many as well.  

 

Personally, its dumb that we even still have to have these conversations of hate, equality, racism, etc in this day and age in supposedly "the best country in the world".  But sadly, its still rooted heavy in our society and all the political rhetoric that last 3 years has helped bring a lot back up to the surface.  And now we have to deal with things like this where people will see it differently like all those stupid "What color is the dress" type arguments.  Some see birth of a nation, others see the hate some people use this flag for.  

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

27 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

It's dumbfounding why Nike listens to Kapernick, who is an extremely polarizing figure that will never play football again.  And the few seasons he played, he had marginal success.  Nike is a huge international name, but pulling a shoe because Kaperdick cried is not a winning strategy. 

 

Focus group data is in. Polarizing means there are two poles. 

 

The side that buy Nikes, and the patriotic, middle aged, blue collar, white males that don’t, never did and never will. 

13 minutes ago, Gugny said:

I think this was a publicity stunt by Nike.  I've been on Kaep's side throughout the majority of his ordeal.

 

But this is stupid.  And to think that a company like Nike would listen to Colin Kaepernick, to me, is also stupid.

 

I'd be shocked if this entire Betsy Ross thing wasn't orchestrated.

 

Shameful.

I suspect they need to retrigger some pr.  The topic has lost steam and focus group attention I suppose. 

[ProcessAccepted]

5 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Kaepernick is popular with Nike’s number one targeted demographic. 

Who is that? People who believe that the legacy of enslaving people still exists in this country?

 

Agree with him or not he has put his principles over personal gain. I personally respect people who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs (whether I share those beliefs or not) over people who just talk.

 

There is no way that Nathan Michael Peterman is a better QB than Kaep. There are multiple QBs albeit in backup roles who are far inferior QBs to Kaep.

 

 

[K-9]

6 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

Who is that? People who believe that the legacy of enslaving people still exists in this country?

 

Agree with him or not he has put his principles over personal gain. I personally respect people who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs (whether I share those beliefs or not) over people who just talk.

 

There is no way that Nathan Michael Peterman is a better QB than Kaep. There are multiple QBs albeit in backup roles who are far inferior QBs to Kaep.

 

 

There may be some in that demographic who believe that, but that didn’t even enter my thought process and I’ve never considered that.  I’ll leave that to you and others to discuss. 

 

Again, the poster I responded to said he was “dumbfounded” as to the reason why Nike would listen to Colin Kaepernick’s advice. I merely offered some clarification as to possible reasons why.

 

There is absolutely NO editorial slant in my post and none was intended. 

[Matt_In_NH]

His numbers are more tyrod-esque than I would have guessed

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

18 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

Who is that? People who believe that the legacy of enslaving people still exists in this country?

 

Agree with him or not he has put his principles over personal gain. I personally respect people who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs (whether I share those beliefs or not) over people who just talk.

 

There is no way that Nathan Michael Peterman is a better QB than Kaep. There are multiple QBs albeit in backup roles who are far inferior QBs to Kaep.

 

 

 

I thought his actions were to protest recent law enforcement events that had disproportionately impacted certain racial demographics? 

[Buddy Hix]

1 hour ago, Freddie's Dead said:

Colin Kaepernick began a new PR campaign for a job in the NFL.  He's taking on Betsy Ross and the original American flag now (you just can't make this <stuff> up):

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nike-pulls-betsy-ross-flag-shoes-after-kaepernick-complaint-report-n1025626

Probably better off to put this thread in the political forum, as that is where it will probably end up.

[Daisy days]

The shoe design drew concern from Kaepernick because the former NFL star said the early flag has connections to slavery,

 

so if connections to slavery is a good enough reason to pull the original flag, maybe Nike should stop selling their product in all the states that fought on the confederate side

[BullBuchanan]

It's just a story to cover up how the logos are crooked. Man, what piss poor execution. Nike following the Gibson model it seems.

[The 9 Isles]

56 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Kaepernick is popular with Nike’s number one targeted demographic. 

 

 

Stupid, naive and gullible people are their number one demographic?

[DrDawkinstein]

Just getting a post in here now before this goes off the rails and gets moved to the Swamp.

[Gisele]

I've typed several posts but deleted them before I hit reply.  You can't say anything anymore without offending someone (and I wouldn't want to do that).

[DrDawkinstein]

Quote

Nike has pulled a new Fourth of July shoe featuring Betsy Ross' flag for the 13 American colonies reportedly after Colin Kaepernick expressed concerns, sparking outrage among some conservatives and prompting the Arizona governor to announce his state will pull millions of dollars in financial incentives to the company.

 

Snowflakes triggered

 

Quote

In recent years, the Betsy Ross flag has been appropriated by the white nationalist group Identity Evropa and the Ku Klux Klan, who use it to represent a time when slavery was legal in the United States.

 

Blame these a-holes for ruining a nostalgic piece of history.

[Gisele]

Maybe white nationalist groups should start wearing Kaepernick shirts.

[Gregthekeg]

35 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

 

Focus group data is in. Polarizing means there are two poles. 

 

The side that buy Nikes, and the patriotic, middle aged, blue collar, white males that don’t, never did and never will. 

I suspect they need to retrigger some pr.  The topic has lost steam and focus group attention I suppose. 

I rarely ever post on this site, because I like to use it as a fun way to keep in touch with the team and fans, but this type of post makes my blood boil. 

 

I am a white, middle aged, blue collar, veteran, and I find it disgusting that people think you have to be so against anything that this man does.  Why not have some stinking empathy for those that are being trivialized and marginalized in OUR society, and not get so upset because an African American man is using his that he earned as platform to try to stymie racial tension. 

 

Take a step back and imagine if a company like Nike or UA said they were going to make a new shoe that had a symbol that was used by people who targeted you, your family, your community.  How could you not say something?  How as someone who loves this country can you not be enraged that it is 2019 and we still have organized hate groups here.  That in the land of the free people are still hated just because of something so stupid as the color of your skin?  That is what we should be upset about.  

 

If you are offended by this shoe not being sold, I truly feel it is not because of your love of the flag, it is for hatred and ignorance of something else. If you do love the flag, you would never want it to be a symbol of hate.  Iif you disagree, you may want to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you love is stronger than your ignorance.  

 

Most of us had no idea that the Betsy Ross flag was used as a sign of hate; even less knew that the shoes were even being made, so how are you so butt hurt when this is being stopped?  How does this infringe on your rights as a white, middle aged, blue collar man?  

 

Now the senator is going to cancel plans for a plant there, that is such a short sited, ignorant thing to do.  Now the local economy will suffer because a company will not support a hate group's symbol.  Ignorance and fear.  

 

[K-9]

11 minutes ago, BoldBully said:

The shoe design drew concern from Kaepernick because the former NFL star said the early flag has connections to slavery,

 

so if connections to slavery is a good enough reason to pull the original flag, maybe Nike should stop selling their product in all the states that fought on the confederate side

I suspect Nike’s marketing research, including various focus groups in their age 15-40 demographic, is more concerned about the co-opting and association of the Betsy Ross flag design by and with various white supremacy groups. More and more marketers have adopted zero tolerance policies in that regard in recent years. 

[whatdrought]

52 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said:

Who is that? People who believe that the legacy of enslaving people still exists in this country?

 

Agree with him or not he has put his principles over personal gain. I personally respect people who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs (whether I share those beliefs or not) over people who just talk.

 

There is no way that Nathan Michael Peterman is a better QB than Kaep. There are multiple QBs albeit in backup roles who are far inferior QBs to Kaep.

 

 

 

 

https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/sports/colin-kaepernick-net-worth/

Mmkay. 

 

A marginalized starting QB who was benched for performance and was destined to life as a backup who is now a household name making millions to be a public icon? 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

12 minutes ago, Gregthekeg said:

I rarely ever post on this site, because I like to use it as a fun way to keep in touch with the team and fans, but this type of post makes my blood boil. 

 

I am a white, middle aged, blue collar, veteran, and I find it disgusting that people think you have to be so against anything that this man does.  Why not have some stinking empathy for those that are being trivialized and marginalized in OUR society, and not get so upset because an African American man is using his that he earned as platform to try to stymie racial tension. 

 

Take a step back and imagine if a company like Nike or UA said they were going to make a new shoe that had a symbol that was used by people who targeted you, your family, your community.  How could you not say something?  How as someone who loves this country can you not be enraged that it is 2019 and we still have organized hate groups here.  That in the land of the free people are still hated just because of something so stupid as the color of your skin?  That is what we should be upset about.  

 

If you are offended by this shoe not being sold, I truly feel it is not because of your love of the flag, it is for hatred and ignorance of something else. If you do love the flag, you would never want it to be a symbol of hate.  Iif you disagree, you may want to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you love is stronger than your ignorance.  

 

Most of us had no idea that the Betsy Ross flag was used as a sign of hate; even less knew that the shoes were even being made, so how are you so butt hurt when this is being stopped?  How does this infringe on your rights as a white, middle aged, blue collar man?  

 

Now the senator is going to cancel plans for a plant there, that is such a short sited, ignorant thing to do.  Now the local economy will suffer because a company will not support a hate group's symbol.  Ignorance and fear.  

 

 

I feel your point and thank you for your service.

 

my note wasn’t meant to be political. I was speaking more to Nike’s motives and corporate marketing machines decisioning around why they do what they do. 

[Don Otreply]

I think it’s sad as hell that so many of my country men and women pay so much attention to Nike or Kaepernick.  

If people paid half as much attention to their elected officials our country would not only have new elected officials, it would be a better place to be a wage earner.....

Edited July 2, 2019 by Don Otreply

[B-Man]

Colin Kaepernick and King George III

 

[Jobot]

Pretty sure Nike's paranoid of those child slavery skelotons in their closet peaking out again... I think there's some heavy irony woven here.

[Jobot]

27 minutes ago, Gregthekeg said:

I rarely ever post on this site, because I like to use it as a fun way to keep in touch with the team and fans, but this type of post makes my blood boil. 

 

I am a white, middle aged, blue collar, veteran, and I find it disgusting that people think you have to be so against anything that this man does.  Why not have some stinking empathy for those that are being trivialized and marginalized in OUR society, and not get so upset because an African American man is using his that he earned as platform to try to stymie racial tension. 

 

Take a step back and imagine if a company like Nike or UA said they were going to make a new shoe that had a symbol that was used by people who targeted you, your family, your community.  How could you not say something?  How as someone who loves this country can you not be enraged that it is 2019 and we still have organized hate groups here.  That in the land of the free people are still hated just because of something so stupid as the color of your skin?  That is what we should be upset about.  

 

If you are offended by this shoe not being sold, I truly feel it is not because of your love of the flag, it is for hatred and ignorance of something else. If you do love the flag, you would never want it to be a symbol of hate.  Iif you disagree, you may want to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you love is stronger than your ignorance.  

 

Most of us had no idea that the Betsy Ross flag was used as a sign of hate; even less knew that the shoes were even being made, so how are you so butt hurt when this is being stopped?  How does this infringe on your rights as a white, middle aged, blue collar man?  

 

Now the senator is going to cancel plans for a plant there, that is such a short sited, ignorant thing to do.  Now the local economy will suffer because a company will not support a hate group's symbol.  Ignorance and fear.  

 

 

Well 300 million people means someones always offended about something.  But regardless I actually don't understand Kap's argument on this one (I can follow the kneeling).  By his logic, should we not honor the men who served and died during the American Revolution because that was also during the slave era?  Obviously that wouldn't make sense.

 

Final thought... don't ever believe that the driver for any decision that Nike makes is about anything other than dollars and cents.  They didn't halt production to show awareness to a social concern, they pulled the shoe due to public opinion impacting their stock price.

[K-9]

3 minutes ago, Jobot said:

Pretty sure Nike's paranoid of those child slavery skelotons in their closet peaking out again... I think there's some heavy irony woven here.

There’s a lot to this and I appreciate you pointing it out. Unfortunately, Nike is far from alone in this travesty. 

 

If we really cared about this issue as a society, the exploitation of child labor on a global scale, we wouldn’t eat most of the chocolate or drink most of the coffee consumed on this planet. If we really cared about the dignity of laborers and the conditions they work in or the ridiculously low wage they are paid, we wouldn’t use half the products presently consumed; from electronics to clothing and everything in between.

 

The issue just doesn’t make us uncomfortable enough. For lots of reasons.

[Paulus]

1 hour ago, JoPar_v2 said:

This would better fit in PPP no?

PPP recognizes this as purely a capitalistic move by both Nike and Kaep. This belongs in the "using race for money" category. 

 

The big question is how this affects the stock price, long term. So far the investors and even consumers believe in this Kaep campaign, so it continues. 

 

Do you really think this shoe release and then Kaep "speaking up" thing was unplanned? Betsy Ross shoe? Really?

 

Nope, this is scripted. Enjoy the manipulation of consumers shew.  

 

[badassgixxer05]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Personally, its dumb that we even still have to have these conversations of hate, equality, racism, etc in this day and age in supposedly "the best country in the world".  But sadly, its still rooted heavy in our society and all the political rhetoric that last 3 years has helped bring a lot back up to the surface.

We are further along then many other countries in the world, but Its just human nature to see differences. Hard to bring everyone together with so many different beliefs. Agreeing to disagree and letting everyone just be themselves(only in a non violent way) is prob the only way to all exist peacefully. Love not Hate people!