A Sheriff’s department in Arkansas is facing criticism for forcing inmates to wear Nike shirt’s in mugshots in an apparent jab at the company’s recent deal with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
It was an activist on social media who first observed the repetition of Nike gear in the mugshots taken by the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Activist and columnist Shaun King posted a photo of 12 inmates wearing Nike shirts to Twitter and Facebook Wednesday, sharing in his posts’ that Sheriff Ricky Roberts was ‘putting Nike t-shirts on people they arrest and making them wear them during mugshots. Source says it is to mock Nike and Colin Kaepernick. Disgusting.’
Within an hour of King pointing out the mugshots, the sheriff’s office took all of them offline.
The Union County Sheriff’s Department is facing criticism after a number of their inmates appear to be dressed in the same Nike t-shirts in an apparent dig at the athletic company’s campaign with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick
The controversial Nike 30th anniversary of their ‘Just Do It’ campaign features the former NFL player which saw some people who were offended by his protests destroying their Nike gear
On September 3 the first sneak peek of Nike’s 30th anniversary of the ‘Just Do It’ campaign was revealed, which featured Kaepernick on camera and voice over a two-minute online spot. That was followed by billboards of the former NFL star and television commercials.
Kaepernick became a lightning rod for controversy, and the face of a new civil rights movement, during his time with the 49ers when he first began taking a knee in 2016 during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
Some people who were outraged by Nike featuring Kaepernick in the campaign took to social media and showed their disdain by burning their own Nike products.
The former quarterback has not been picked up by a team since he left the 49ers and is currently suing the NFL for what he alleges is collusion against him to keep him out of the sport.
Sheriff Ricky Roberts was attacked specifically by King for the inmates in Nike shirts
The ‘NIKE ATHLETICS’ shirt began to show up in mugshots around September 15, according to the jail’s roster, however, the t-shirt with the small Nike ‘swoosh’ on the lapel appeared on some of the inmates in July, predating the Kaepernick deal.
Before the photos were taken down at least 11 of the 182 inmates that were posted to the Union County Sheriff’s site were in the Nike gear.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Union County Sheriff’s Department, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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