President Donald Trump was critical of a Nike ad campaign including Colin Kaepernick that the former 49ers quarterback tweeted out Monday.
"I think it’s a terrible message that they’re sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there’s a reason for them doing it, but I think as far as sending a message, I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent," Trump told the Daily Caller. "There’s no reason for it.”
Reports from Yahoo and CBS Sports said Nike is expected to release a new line of Kaepernick-related apparel soon, but the image posted to social media was enough to prompt some to call for a boycott of the company.
Kaepernick came to the forefront of the NFL's discussion of social issues when he first sat and then kneeled for the national anthem in 2016. He then spoke about wanting to bring attention to racial injustice in the country saying he could not stand for the anthem because he did not believe the country was upholding the values for which the song stands.
President Trump has been critical of the NFL in the past for not being more proactive in addressing players kneeling during the national anthem.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners...when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b— off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’ ” Trump said Sept. 2017 at a rally in Hunstville, Ala., via the Washington Post.
The NFL released a statement Tuesday addressing Colin Kaepernick's fight to draw attention to social issues.
"The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity," Jocelyn Moore, the NFL's executive vice president of communications and public affairs said in a statement. "We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities.
"The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action."