*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).
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has appeared before a judge to face federal contempt charges for defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating January’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
As inflation continues to heat up faster than expected, those on the side of seeing it as a transitory issue tied to the pandemic remain steadfast in their position. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a look at team transitory and its critics.
Michigan’s attorney general says she drank too much booze before a big football game between Michigan and Michigan State.
Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars.
President Joe Biden is using his first Veterans Day in office to announce an effort to better understand, identify and treat medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic environments.
A judge in Michigan has approved a $626 million settlement for Flint residents and others who were exposed to lead-contaminated water.
Until recently, abortion was criminalized in Mexico. Now, Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized abortion at the same time the strictest abortion law in the United States went into effect in Texas, changing the dynamics of seeking abortions in the region.
Biden is holding up Baltimore’s port as a blueprint on how to reduce shipping bottlenecks that have held back the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic
The Democrat and former police officer has since doubled down on his plans to make New York a crypto hub along the lines of Miami,
The fight over anti-abortion ordinances has moved to southwest Ohio where alleged "Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn" are spreading from Texas.
