Ex-NFLer Likens Nike Hiring Kaepernick to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor

Burgess Owens called Kaepernick Nike’s “Marxist” representative while speaking to Stuart Varney of Fox Business.

Nike's Controversial Colin Kaepernick Ad Nabs Emmy Award
A billboard featuring former San Francisco 49ers quaterback Colin Kaepernick. (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
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During an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney, former NFL player Burgess Owens compared Nike using Colin Kaepernick as the face of the brand’s new “Just Do It” campaign to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.

“We have to look at the bigger picture and understand in America that we’re under assault,” Owens said. “It’s like 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, we’re being assaulted by the left. And we need to understand who they are.”

Owens, a conservative who played for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, referred to Kaepernick as Nike’s “Marxist” representative and said fans can’t let athletes “get away” with protesting during the national anthem.

Kaepernick became the face of the player protest movement in the NFL while serving as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He is currently out of work in the NFL as no team has wanted to take a chance on him.

According to Owens, the protests are un-American and have nothing to do with patriotism, but instead are about “profit and politics” for the players.

Despite what Owens has to say, the Nike campaign looks like it will be a success, albeit a controversial one. After shares of the company plunged last week, they are already back up and trading at normal levels.

And, given the amount of buzz surrounding the campaign, they’ll likely only go up.

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