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UFC Champ Goes on Vulgar Tirade Against Nike Over Kaepernick Deal

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Nike’s decision this week to launch an advertising campaign praising quarterback — and national anthem protester — Colin Kaepernick has sparked much criticism, and even calls for a boycott of the company.

Within the sports world, however, Nike has faced very little pushback. That’s not surprising; Nike has sponsorship deals with so many high-profile athletes as well as numerous professional and college teams that Nike isn’t going to be singled out by most athletes, even if they disagree with Kaepernick’s stance on the anthem.

But one champion athlete isn’t holding in back his criticism of Nike or Kaepernick, who is featured in the Nike ad as saying, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Mixed martial arts fighter Colby Covington, currently the UFC interim welterweight champion, went on Twitter to rip the company and using an expletive to describe Kaepernick.

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“I grew up in Oregon and was around Nike my whole life,” Covington said, referring to the state where Nike’s corporate offices are located. “It’s funny watching a company that uses child slave labor overseas to make their products all of sudden become humanitarians.”

Covington then said former NFL player Pat Tillman — who walked away from a lucrative contract in pro football to join the military in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was eventually killed during his service — was much more of a hero when compared to Kaepernick because Tillman truly gave the ultimate sacrifice for what he believed in.

It’s worth noting that UFC is sponsored by Reebok, a fierce competitor of Nike.

Would you like to see more athletes take a stance like Covington?

But Covington’s public display of patriotism, as well as his support of President Donald Trump, are well documented.

Last month, Covington posed with President Donald Trump at the White House with the UCF championship belt — a belt he promised he would bring to the White House if he won the welterweight championship in June after Covington ripped championship athletes from other sports for not wanting to visit the White House.

Covington has also made it clear that he has no tolerance for anyone who uses the anthem as a platform for protest.

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Covington won the interim championship in June by defeating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225.

Covington’s reign as interim welterweight championship comes to an end this weekend at UFC 228. He is unable to defend his title due to injury, so the winner of Saturday’s bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till will become the new welterweight champion.

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Scott Kelnhofer is a writer for The Western Journal and Conservative Tribune. A native of Milwaukee, he currently resides in Phoenix.
Scott Kelnhofer is a writer for The Western Journal and Conservative Tribune. He has more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. A native of Milwaukee, he has resided in Phoenix since 2012.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Media, Sports, Business Trends




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