*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).
How much do you think cops make? A few hundred thousand per year? It sounds extreme, but this is the case in many cities across the country thanks to a slew of financial perks in ironclad union contracts.
The Federal Reserve is holding steady on the dovish policy stance that it's maintained since the beginning of the pandemic but not without a hat-tip to those worried about rising inflation.
Just 40 years ago, New York City's Times Square was a very different place: crime-ridden and adult theaters as the main source of entertainment. Cheddar explains how it went from this to one of the top tourist attractions in the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in a “constructive” summit to return their ambassadors to their posts and to begin consultations to replace the last remaining treaty between the two countries limiting nuclear weapons.
Joe Biden has arrived in the summit city of Geneva ahead of what will be the most-watched part of his first trip abroad as president: talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has topped 600,000, even as the vaccination drive has slashed daily cases and deaths and allowed the country to emerge from the gloom.
MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist known for her impromptu multi-billion dollar donations to charities and racial equity causes, announced Tuesday that she has given $2.7 billion to 286 organizations.
A French court has ordered home furnishings giant Ikea to pay more than $1.3 million in fines and damages Tuesday over a campaign to spy on union representatives, employees and some unhappy customers in France.
Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by a decline in auto sales and a shift by Americans to spend more on vacations and other services instead of goods.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the next planned relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England will be delayed by four weeks until July 19, as a result of the spread of the delta variant.
