Georgia University Cuts Ties With Nike After Colin Kaepernick Ad
(CBS) -- A small university in Georgia is dropping its affiliation with Nike to protest the company's ad featuring Colin Kaepernick. Truett McConnell University President, Dr. Emir Caner, said the school will no longer purchase or carry apparel from Nike because the former NFL quarterback "mocks our troops" by kneeling during the National Anthem.
"For Nike to then hire Colin Kaepernick, a person known for wearing pigs on his socks, mocking law enforcement, and kneeling against our flag, mocking our troops, is reprehensible to my family and to the Truett McConnell family," said Caner.
"As such, TMU is discontinuing our relationship with Nike in athletics and our campus store. Any profits from remaining Nike gear sold through our campus store will be directly donated to Wounded Warriors and the Fraternal Order of Police."
Caner said the university, located in Cleveland, Ga., would reconsider a relationship with Nike if the company apologizes to the military and law enforcement.
College of the Ozarks in Missouri also dropped Nike last week, saying it was choosing "country over company."
A video ad featuring the quarterback ran during the NFL season opener last Thursday evening.
The former San Francisco 49er has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season. That year, he began kneeling during the National Anthem to raise awareness about police brutality against African-Americans and other racial injustices.
Edison Research reports Nike's online sales grew 31 percent over the Labor Day weekend.
Since 2013, Truett McConnell, an National Association Of Intercollegiate Athletics school, is a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The university does not have a football team and its men's soccer, men's golf and women's volleyball teams all wear Adidas in competition, based on recent social media posts. The women's soccer team had been wearing Nike gear in games in August, but appear to have switched to Adidas.
About 2,600 students attend Truett McConnell.
