*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).
A chopper crash killed top Ukrainian lawmakers, Arizona fight over water, and the TSA found a record number of firearms last year. Here is everything you Need2Know for Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
A helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb Wednesday killed 18 people, including Ukraine’s interior minister and three children, Ukrainian authorities said.
The world is in a “sorry state" because of myriad “interlinked” challenges including climate change and Russia's war in Ukraine that are “piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,” the U.N. chief said at the World Economic Forum's meeting Wednesday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the outlines for her “Green Deal Industrial Plan” at the World Economic Forum at Davos.
For the first time in decades, China has fewer people than it did at the start of last year, according to official figures released Tuesday.
Solomon Pena was arrested in connection with a recent series of drive-by shootings targeting Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico.
The request comes after the White House's weekend disclosure that more classified records were found at the president's Delaware residence.
The winter meetup of CEOs and heads of state is the first since 2020.
The U.S. Treasury notified Congress that the debt ceiling could hit next week.
Google said a liability case before the Supreme Court could potentially "upend the internet" and lead to massive censorship online.
