Colin Kaepernick just tweeted a powerful full-length advertisement for Nike.
The two-minute ad features clips of iconic athletes such as tennis player Serena Williams, basketball star LeBron James and soccer player Megan Rapinoe. The ad also features some lesser-known athletes who have beaten extraordinary odds like Shaquem Griffin, the one-handed football player who was recently drafted into the NFL.
“If people say your dreams are crazy, if they laugh at what you think you can do. Good. Stay that way,” Kaepernick says in the ad. “Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it’s a compliment.”
The new ad is scheduled to air during the NFL season opening game on Thursday night, according to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell.
Nike recently announced that it chose Kaepernick to be the face of the company’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. The campaign’s tagline, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” gives a nod to Kaepernick’s peaceful protest against police brutality and racial inequality in which he began kneeling during the national anthem. The practice was later picked up by other NFL players.
The announcement that Kaepernick was the new face of Nike has set off a flurry of controversy, with many conservatives burning Nike apparel in protest of the choice.
Although Kaepernick has not played for an NFL team since 2016, an arbitrator recently let the former 49ers quarterback take to trial his grievance that NFL owners conspired to keep him out of the league.
This story has been updated to note the ad is scheduled to air during the NFL season opener.
