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Kaepernick’s initial tweet prompted many people on the internet to threaten to boycott Nike, as well as throw away or burn any Nike apparel they owned. Similar to College of the Ozarks, one man claimed that Nike was forcing him to choose between his “favorite shoes” and his country.

First the @NFL forces me to choose between my favorite sport and my country. I chose country. Then @Nike forces me to choose between my favorite shoes and my country. Since when did the American Flag and the National Anthem become offensive? pic.twitter.com/4CVQdTHUH4

— Sean Clancy (@sclancy79) September 3, 2018

Others predicted that Nike’s strategy would backfire.

“Nike’s campaign will generate both attention and discussion, which is, arguably, one of its central aims,” Neil Saunders, managing director of data and analytics firm Global Data, previously told ABC News. “However, it is also a risky strategy in that it addresses, and appears to take sides on, a highly politicized issue. This means it could ultimately alienate and lose customers, which is not the purpose of a marketing campaign.”

The company, however, has already benefited from the uproar that the Kaepernick ad has created. In less than 24 hours after first releasing the ad on Twitter, the company received over $43 million worth of media exposure, Bloomberg reported.

NFL executive vice president of communications and public affairs Jocelyn Moore said in a statement on Tuesday, \"The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity. We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities. The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.\"

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