Louisiana mayor bans Nike on playgrounds

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Sep 12, 2018

A Louisiana mayor has banned the purchase of Nike products by clubs using his city's recreation facilities in a show of disapproval for Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad. 

"Effective immediately all purchases made by any booster club operating at any Kenner Recreation Facility...must be approved by the Director of Parks and Recreation, or his designee," Mayor Zahn said in a memorandum obtained by the New Orleans Advocate. "Under no circumstances will any Nike product or any product with the Nike logo be purchased for use or delivery at any City of Kenner recreation facility."

The move caused contention with many Louisiana natives, including other city representatives. Kenner City Councilman Gregory Carroll said the decision "is in direct contradiction of what I stand for" in a public Facebook post, while New Orleans Councilman Jay H. Banks posted photos of himself buying Nike products.  

On Monday, Mayor Zahn released a public statement explaining his decision.

"Private, for-profit companies have every right to advertise how they wish, even if it means using advertising to promote corporate political beliefs," he said. "Individuals also have every right to support or oppose any company or brand for any reason...when a company uses its advertising as its own political megaphone, government should be fair to all of its people and not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to help that company push its own political agenda."

In the nine days since the football player first tweeted the spot, Nike has received both calls for boycott and increased media revenue. As the brand continues to polarize the public, heated debates over the ad continue.