JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s public safety commissioner disclosed Saturday that state police will no longer buy Nike products, saying the athletic apparel maker is unpatriotic and fails to support those in uniform.
“As commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, I will not support vendors who do not support law enforcement and our military,” Commissioner Marshall Fisher said in a statement Saturday to The Associated Press.
It isn’t immediately clear how much gear the state police agency buys from Nike or if it purchases directly from the athletic apparel maker. Department spokesman Warren Strain said the department has bought shoes and shirts from the company, as well as tactical training uniforms.
But Mississippi’s Republican establishment is jumping to support the cause, with Gov. Phil Bryant lauding his appointee’s decision.
“I support the commissioner’s decision,” Bryant said in a statement. The governor said the commissioner has the right to choose vendors his department does business with “and it’s not going to be a company that pays an individual who has slandered our fine men and women in law enforcement.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]After suffering its “biggest intraday slide in five months” the day after unveiling its Colin Kaepernick-starring 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, Nike’s stock value has climbed to new heights.
“Ten days after Nike’s new Colin Kaepernick ad provoked calls for boycotts, shares hit an all-time high, closing at $83.47 Thursday,” Bloomberg reports. Though the outlet underscores that it will be “months, if not longer, until anyone can fully measure the business impact of Nike Inc.’s controversial partnership with quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick,” the early data looks promising compared to last year:
Edison scanned receipts from more than 200 online retailers (including Nike.com) and found that that Tuesday after Labor Day, for example, the first full day after Kaepernick’s ad went viral, Nike purchases were 22 percent higher than the same day in 2017. On Wednesday they were 42 percent higher, and Thursday they were 23 percent higher. They remained above 2017 levels through the end of the week. – READ MORE
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