The Cost of Kaepernick

After Colin Kaepernick almost single handedly put the NFL into a ratings spiral, Nike decided it liked what it saw in the man and made him a centerpiece of its marketing. That decision has now cost the company $3 billion in market cap. Jesse Kelly reports for The Federalist (abridged):

Look at this number: $3,000,000,000. Billion with a “B.” That is the market cap Nike cost themselves when they made the fateful decision to make Colin Kaepernick the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. They were down over 3 percent and dropping in the markets by midday after the commercial dropped.

Business people around the country are scratching their heads, and rightly so. After all, Nike is the company Michael Jordan launched into stardom. He famously said of his nonpolitical stance, “Republicans buy shoes, too.” Why would an athletic apparel company put itself firmly opposite of half the country? Pride.

Levi Strauss decided to follow Nike’s lead and dip its toes in the boiling leftist water. The famed jeans maker has announced it is partnering with the anti-Second Amendment group Everytown for Gun Safety to push Congress for anti-gun laws.

What on earth would prompt a jeans company to take a stance that will alienate half the country? Pride

It’s easy to point at Donald Trump’s cocky bluster and call it arrogance. But who is the arrogant one? Is it the New York billionaire who took the time to understand the concerns of forgotten Americans? Or is it the corporation heaping monetary losses on its stockholders because they refuse to step out of the Portland bubble? Or is it the D.C. writer who looks out his office window and convinces himself a skyline of white marble buildings means he’s one step away from power?

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