One of Georgia’s private Christian colleges has announced that it is severing ties with Nike. The move is in response to the Colin Kaepernick ad campaign.
Truett McConnell University (TMU) says the Kaepernick was “mocking” law enforcement and the military by protesting during the national anthem. The north Georgia school made the announcement Friday, saying Nike products will no longer be carried in its campus store and proceeds from any remaining products to Wounded Warriors, a veterans charity, and the Fraternal Order of Police.
CBS News reports:
The school’s president, Dr. Emir Caner, said in a statement that Nike’s hiring of Kaepernick is “reprehensible.” He described the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback as “a person known for wearing pigs on his socks, mocking law enforcement, kneeling against our flag, and mocking our troops.”
“If Nike chooses to apologize to our troops and to our law enforcement officers, then — and only then — will TMU reconsider their brand,” Caner said.
Caner, the university’s president, wrote in a message to CBS News, “We stand for our anthem because we honor our troops and their incredible sacrifice. It is the one symbol of freedom in this country that is apolitical, that represents our desire for a more perfect union. To take a knee is to insult the 200 year history that has given us a DNA of sacrifice.
Truett McConnell is home to 2,600 students in Cleveland, Georgia.
