A Missouri college is putting force behind its contract with Nike and saying, “We just did it.”
The College of the Ozarks, a private Christian school in Point Lookout that regularly tops the lists of “best buys” in private college education, said it will remove all uniforms purchased from Nike that contain the brand’s logo.
Last year the college, which competes in sports at the NAIA level, added a stipulation to competition contracts, saying it would walk away from any game where the opposing team takes a knee, sits or turns its back on the flag or anthem.
The policy began September 2017, when the school announced that it would walk away if the opposing team did not respect the national anthem and American flag. A month later, it began requiring freshman to take a civics course on the founding principals of the Constitution and patriotism.
“If Nike is ashamed of America, we are ashamed of them,” College of the Ozarks President Jerry C. Davis said in a statement. “We also believe that those who know what sacrifice is all about are more likely to be wearing a military uniform than an athletic uniform.”
Nike has received tremendous blowback from Americans who see it disrespecting the sacrifice of the American military.
The company unveiled over the weekend its first “Just Do It” ad narrated by Colin Kaepernick, a spot scheduled to air during the NFL season opener Thursday night as well as during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and other major sporting events.
The two-minute spot released Wednesday highlights athletes LeBron James, Serena Williams and others, and touches on the controversy of NFL players protesting racial inequality, police brutality and other issues by demonstrating during the national anthem.
Shares of Nike were down significantly while across the nation people began burning their Nike shoes and other apparel.
The stock plummet is seen as a mirror to the plunge that Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered after it said it would stop carrying hunting rifles and other firearms. Dick’s Sporting Goods stocks has never recovered from the backlash and it continues to suffer poor sales overall while the retail sector in general has seen vast improvements in the expanding economy this year.