Sherry Graham-Potter is a close friend of those of us at Law Enforcement Today. Her late husband, Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Graham, died in the line of duty in 2005.
The Arizona woman wrote an emotional letter to Nike, telling them of how she wore a Nike cap while she grieved for her husband, and how that symbolized her husband’s “strength and sacrifice.”
That tie to Nike went out the window during their ad campaign featuring former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, and her response went viral.
https://www.facebook.com/sherry.grahampotter/posts/10212413787482019?ref=embed_post
She blasted Nike for using Kaepernick, who has openly shown “contempt for law enforcement,” as a spokesperson for an ad about sacrificing everything.
Here's part of her letter:
This man, whose contempt for law enforcement fits him like a…sock, has promoted an agenda that has been proven false time and time again, in study after study. But facts don’t seem to matter anymore. This man has thrown his support behind divisive anti-police groups, and donated money directly to a fugitive from justice who escaped prison after killing a police officer. I question the judgement of anyone who would put someone this controversial and divisive at the head of an advertising campaign, but it isn’t my company to run.
I don’t know if I’ll have the heart to ever get rid of this cap, but I will tell you this, I’ll never purchase another Nike product as long as I live. You got this one wrong Nike, terribly, terribly wrong.
The Nike ad, which Kaepernick isi the voice of, shares stories from athletes who overcame illness or disabilities.
“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” Kaepernick says in the commercial.
Nike, of course, was blasted over how its ad used Kaepernick, who made his claim to fame in August 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem to protest "police brutality", to share a message about “sacrificing everything.”
We sat down with Sherry to talk more about the letter. Here are her own words.
