Union County, Arkansas, Sheriff Has Inmates Wear Nike T-Shirts In Mugshots

The Union County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas is forcing inmates to wear Nike t-shirts in mugshots in order to mock the company’s recent deal with Colin Kaepernick, an activist posted on social media Wednesday.

Shaun King, an activist and columnist, posted a photo of 12 inmates wearing Nike t-shirts saying Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts was “putting Nike t-shirts on people they arrest and making them wear them during mugshots.”

Local daily Arkansas Online reported that less than an hour after the activist posted the photo, the Sheriff’s Office removed all photos of inmates from the jail’s online roster. Prior to that, the site had photos of at least 11 of the 182 inmates wearing black T-shirts with “Nike Athletics” in boldface font mentioned above the company's signature checkmark. According to the jail’s roster, these “Nike Athletics” T-shirts started showing up on mugshots around Sept. 15.

Kaepernick made headlines in 2016 when he knelt during the national anthem protesting police brutality and racism. His peaceful protest sparked a huge movement with several people following his lead. He went on to become an ambassador for Amnesty International.

Recently, Nike sealed a deal to feature the former NFL quarterback on its billboards, television and online campaigns. On Sept. 4, Nike posted an ad featuring Kaepernick as apart of its "Just Do It" campaign with the caption "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" emblazoned across a black and white portrait of the NFL star.

The ad immediately became controversial. While some applauded the ingenuity of the advertisement, others lambasted it. Some also went to the extent of posting videos of them burning Nike shoes and cutting the company’s "swoosh" logo on socks, and vowing to never buy the products again.

Though Nike Inc.’s stock slipped about 3 percent the following day in midday trading, analysts said the company would eventually do well.

“The long-term relationship and a contract that benefits both parties over the next 10 years will likely outweigh any current controversy,” Bloomberg analyst Chen Grazutis said.

Correctly so, the ad campaign generated $43 million in media exposure in 24 hours since its unveiling, with just $10.91 million being negative.

The company also released a video clip featuring Kaepernick and other athletes, which began with a narrative by the former.

"If people say your dreams are crazy if they laugh at what you think you can do, good. Stay that way. Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it's a compliment,” Kaepernick said in the clip.

Last year, several athletes followed Kaepernick's lead and kneeled or sat in protest during the playing of the national anthem. President Donald Trump had taken to Twitter to slam these athletes. "The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!" he tweeted at the time.