Colin Kaepernick's Nike ad.

It’s been a rather active two weeks for Nike. After deciding that they would support Colin Kaepernick by building their “Just Do It” campaign around him, everyone seemed to have an opinion about that.

Some supported and applauded the move while others disagreed and some of them boycotted in various ways. Of those who boycotted, some decided not to buy any more Nike apparel while others went a step further and cut out the Nike swoosh or burned their Nike stuff.

Anyway, those opposed to the Kaepernick/Nike relationship were quick to point out Nike’s immediate drop in stock price, from a near all-time high of $82.20 per share to $79.60, Nike’s lowest point since mid-August. They weren’t the only stock to drop in that time, the entire New York Stock Exchange dropped way more over that time, but it was a straw that Fox News pundits and viewers could grab and act like Nike was a dying business because they provided a platform to Colin Kaepernick.

Well, after about 10 days, they can’t even say that anymore. On Thursday, Nike rebounded and closed at an all-time high of $83.47 per share, their fourth consecutive day of having a higher stock price than the day before and experiencing a stronger bounce back than the NYSE over the same time period. One reason could be that since bringing on Kaepernick, Nike reported a 31 percent rise in online sales.

Could this possibly encourage a certain NBA legend, who has his own brand with Nike, to be more active when it comes to race? I highly doubt it. But based on what we’ve seen the past couple weeks, Republicans might buy shoes but Nike is showing they can probably survive without them if it ever gets to that point.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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