* By Jill Wagner*
As Colin Kaepernick’s new Nike ad continues to divide the country, one former NFL player says, in the end, sports will help reunite it.
Randal "Thrill" Hill played for the Miami Dolphins, the Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals, and the New Orleans Saints long before Kaepernick and other players started kneeling during the National Anthem to protest racial inequality.
So, is he worried that the Anthem controversy will permanently damage the league? Just the opposite.
Hill told Cheddar Big News, "When things go wrong in this country, the NFL and sports usually brings the country back together.”
Hill points to the days after the attacks on September 11th. Professional baseball was put on hold for six days. When the season resumed, the Mets played their archrival the Braves for the first major sporting event in New York after the attacks. Mets players wore NYPD and FDNY hats, Mike Piazza hit a home run, and for many people, it felt like things would actually be okay.
Then the Yankees made it to the World Series, and President Bush threw out the first pitch.
Hill also talked about the Miami riots during the 1980s, and how football helped bring the city together during those troubling times.
“The NFL usually brings ー and even Major League Baseball ー bring citizens of the United States together to cheer and have fun and to go out just have a great time watching a good event.”
It’s still not clear how history will judge Nike's new “Just Do It” ad, which aired during Thursday night’s NFL season opener. Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick voices the commercial, telling the audience to "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
The company’s stock price has dropped since Nike first revealed the new campaign and some critics have burned their sneakers. President Trump weighed in, tweeting, "Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts.”
At the same time, many fans and professional athletes are showing their support, with the hashtag #JustDoIt trending on Twitter.
Michigan’s attorney general says she drank too much booze before a big football game between Michigan and Michigan State.
The NFL and lawyers for thousands of retired NFL players have reached an agreement to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims.
Elite, teen basketball players are facing more choices than ever with the NBA's developmental league and the NCAA loosening its financial compensation rules. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports from the US Open in New York City as the tournament returns to a very different landscape for players and fans.
For the first time ever, the Special Olympics and students at the Parsons School of Design partnered to create tennis and track and field outfits for athletes. The line is called 'Be Brave' and it's goal is all about celebrating athletes with disabilities with outfits that allow them to perform their best. joining us now is Stacey Hengsterman, president and CEO of the Special Olympics New York and Nigel Barker, fashion photographer and Special Olympics Champion Ambassador joined us to talk about the collection.
Car racing remains a male-dominated sport but there’s hope for change with the Formula E all-electric vehicle competition, which has already featured three female drivers during its seven seasons.
Controversy has broken out at the Paralympic Games. Malaysian shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli appeared to have won gold in the shot put in the F20 class.
Michael Chernow is known as a chef, TV host, and entrepreneur, but now he's taking a break from restaurants and stepping into the world of healthy breakfast. 'Kreatures of Habit' is a new lifestyle and wellness brand with the goal of helping people establish healthy habits. Michael was able to raise 2.2 million dollars to launch the company, which was originally set out to be a café concept, but transformed during the pandemic. Michael Chernow, celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and fitness expert joins us to talk about his new venture.
Cryptograph is auctioning NFTs of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in early career photos that had never before been made public.
A Japanese mayor has apologized for biting the Olympic gold medal of a softball player who had paid a courtesy visit after Japan beat the United States in the final.
