*By Michael Teich*
Nike debuted its [controversial new ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I) featuring Colin Kaepernick Wednesday, part of its "Just Do It" 30th anniversary ad campaign.
The roll out came after some public backlash and a tweet from President Trump criticizing the company's decision to sign on the former NFL player, who set off a string of player protests the last two seasons.
While Nike's campaign has proven to be a polarizing initiative, leaving some consumers to pledging to boycott the brand, military veteran and Sports Illustrated writer and producer Scooby Axson sees the move as a net positive for Nike.
"At the end of the day I don't think it's going to hurt their bottom line," Axson told Cheddar in an interview Wednesday.
Axson, who served 16 years in the U.S. Army, thinks those unhappy about NFL players kneeling for the anthem are demonstrating false outrage and that their anger is misplaced.
"If you want to say somebody is disrespecting the flag or the anthem, the NFL does this every single Sunday when they drape that flag across 100 yards, and that's per the flag code. The federal flag code says you shouldn't do that," said Axson.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nike-doubles-down-on-kaepernick-with-thursday-night-football-ad).
Republican lawmakers voted to temporarily silence a member of the so-called 'Tennessee Three' during a House session on Monday.
New video showed detained American Paul Whelan inside a Russian prison camp.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's funeral, according to the Kremlin.
The Biden administration is targeting the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications for Medicare's first-ever drug price negotiations as it seeks to lower medical costs for Americans.
A medical rescue helicopter caught fire and broke apart shortly after takeoff Monday before crashing into an apartment complex near Fort Lauderdale, killing a paramedic captain on board and a resident on the ground, authorities said.
A report showed that 2022 saw a record number of requests to ban books at U.S. public schools.
A federal judge heard arguments on whether to move the case for Mark Meadows to federal court from state.
Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia are scheduled to be arraigned next week on charges they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Data gathered by The Associated Press show at least 14 of the 20 most populous U.S. cities are hosting or starting programs, sometimes called civilian, alternative or non-police response teams.
The original march in 1963 drew as many as 250,000 people and helped pave the way for the passage of federal civil rights and voting rights legislation in the next few years.
