Shortly after Nike recently announced that they were making Colin Kaepernick the face of their 30th anniversary campaign, a city mayor from Louisiana responded by allegedly issuing a memo that calls for a ban on any purchases of Nike products by the city's recreation departments and booster clubs.
The mayor who launched the memo is Ben Zahn and according to the memo, it states that under no circumstances would any Nike product be permitted to be purchased for either use or delivery at municipal recreation facilities starting immediately.
It's alleged that the memo wasn't supposed to end up in the public eye but it didn't take long before it was shared across social media. Apparently there were some city council members who still weren't aware that the memo even existed.
One petition was quickly started that was seeking to have the ban overturned. As for the city council members, reportedly 6 of them have refrained from choosing a side in this matter. Zahn has received criticism from many though, some suggesting that he's more concerned with playing petty politics that will score him cheap points, than working for the benefit of the community he supposedly represents.
Zahn allegedly declared that there would be zero circumstances where Nike products or products with the Nike logo would be purchased for recreation facilities in the city. He says that his actions are seeking to protect taxpayers from promoting what he sees is Nike's "political agenda". Apparently he says that the government is against letting tax dollars be used to promote a political position, but we know that plenty of tax dollars go toward promoting statism to millions regularly. If he is so concerned about fairness though, then how about recognizing the right of individuals to opt out of a centralized system with a monopoly on violence? We'll have to wait on that one, I guess.
His knee-jerk reaction against the move by Nike alarmed some parents to wondering whether or not their kids would be permitted to wear Nike on city playgrounds. Zhan had to reassure those parents and clarify that the ban wasn't on wearing Nike apparel.
As a result of the growing backlash against his Nike ban, Zahn has since reportedly rescinded that ban.
It's alleged that school officials from Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, and Lousiana, have been trying to get various educational facilities to cut their ties with Nike. No mention yet of whether or not they're taking it further in also targeting the brands that Nike Owns.
If only those government workers who are so concerned with Nike would work this hard to get people out of prison who are being held there over victimless crimes, or be this passionate about trying to end the drug war, end the fed, or put a stop to the endless bombing overseas etc, then I might be impressed.
Zahn says that it was advice given to him from his attorney that prompted him to change his mind on the ban, suggesting that the move was one that divided the city and placed it in an unflattering light.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
https://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/09/nike_ban_kenner_ben_zahn_recre.html
https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/a-mayor-in-louisiana-rescinds-a-city-s-ban-on-nike-products-1.4091415
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/10/us/kenner-louisiana-mayor-bans-city-nike-purchases-trnd/index.html
https://www.wdsu.com/article/kenner-mayor-faces-backlash-after-memo-banning-nike-products-at-recreational-facilities-surfaces/23051429
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/13/17856058/nike-ban-kaepernick-kenner-louisiana-tennessee-state-schools-christian-colleges
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/kenner-mayor-rescinds-nike-ban-after-storm-of-criticism/
https://chatnewstoday.ca/article/572005/louisiana-mayor-bans-nike-products-parks-and-rec
https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/article_c00d6c36-b6c1-11e8-993d-5321b891d45e.html