Nike’s sales have gone up amid a backlash over the 30th-anniversary “Just Do It” campaign starring Colin Kaepernick, the football player who started the #TakeAKnee movement in 2016.

The brand’s sales increased 31 percent from Sunday through Tuesday over Labor Day, according to Edison Trends. During Labor Day 2017, sales increased 17 percent, the company reported.

Kaepernick’s ad — which says “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” — was released on Sept. 3, and his commercial dropped two days later.

“People say your dreams are crazy, if they laugh at what you think you can do, good,” Kaepernick, 30, says in the video. “Stay that way. Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it’s a compliment.”

The commercial, which showcases inspirational sports figures like Serena Williams and LeBron James, aired during Thursday’s NFL season opener.

As the campaign made waves, some Nike patrons announced on social media that they were boycotting the brand.

“Our Soundman just cut the Nike swoosh off his socks,” tweeted Big and Rich country star John Rich. “Former marine. Get ready @Nike multiply that by the millions.”

President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday, “What was Nike thinking?”

Trump told The Daily Caller, “I think it’s a terrible message. Nike is a tenant of mine. They pay a lot of rent.”

He added, “In another way, it is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn’t do, but I personally am on a different side of it.”

“But 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,” Trump said. “But I think as far as sending a message, I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent. There’s no reason for it.”

Kaepernick made headlines in August 2016 by declining to stand for the anthem when it was played before games. Instead of standing, he kneeled to protest racial injustice and police brutality. Months later, he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco Niners in March 2017 and has not been able to find a new team since. He is now suing the NFL claiming teams colluded to keep him out of the league.

In 2016, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback explained his protest by saying, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Kaepernick, who had not appeared in a Nike ad in over two years, has been a Nike athlete since 2011. Nike is the NFL’s official uniform sponsor.

Source : people.com