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Angry Fans Are Burning Their Nike Gear To ‘Support The Troops’

Colin Kaepernick has been at the center of a controversial protest at the NFL since 2016, when he decided to kneel during the national anthem. Kaepernick was peacefully protesting racial inequality in America and police brutality against black men and women, particularly the deaths of unarmed black men. He was joined by his teammate Eric Reid, who wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that they deeply considered the gesture before making it.

“After hours of careful consideration, and even a visit from Nate Boyer, a retired Green Beret and former NFL player, we came to the conclusion that we should kneel, rather than sit, … during the anthem as a peaceful protest,” wrote Reid. “We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.”

Kaepernick and the many NFL players who joined him over the last two years have faced a lot of hostility from fans and powerful people in the media, including Donald Trump. Some see kneeling as disrespectful to the troops and anti-American. Those people generally ignore that peaceful protest is a constitutional right that has been an important part of history and the Civil Rights movement. As you’ll see from this story, they’re not entirely reasonable people.

Nike has decided to support Kaepernick, featuring him in a new ad campaign:

Nike is not a perfect company, but they sure know how to make incendiary ads. Literally, in this case: people are cutting up and burning their Nike products in protest of Colin Kaepernick. And they’re doing it very stupidly:

Wow. Powerful. You will walk around in floppy socks for the troops.

This person burned their shoes on the lawn, because why not:

These guys like fire:

People certainly have the right to refuse to buy or wear Nike products, just like Kaepernick can kneel during the national anthem. It’s a free country! But people can’t help pointing out that there’s a flaw in the logic of folks setting fire to their own belongings:

It’s your money to waste, but maybe consider donating to a homeless shelter and burning a tire on your lawn instead.