{"id":180081,"date":"2018-09-05T03:14:01","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T07:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=180081"},"modified":"2018-09-05T03:14:01","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T07:14:01","slug":"james-says-stands-nike-reference-kaepernick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/09\/05\/james-says-stands-nike-reference-kaepernick\/","title":{"rendered":"James says he ‘stands with Nike’ in reference to Kaepernick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u201cBecause of you, Gloria James, I’m able to be in a position today where I can give back and showcase why I believe African-American women are the most powerful women in the world.\u201d (File Photo By Keith Allison from Kinston, USA LeBron James\/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Clutching his young daughter in his arms, LeBron James said on Tuesday that he ‘stands with Nike,’ a clear reference to the company’s Colin Kaepernick ad campaign.<\/p>\n

The basketball superstar \u2014 and new Los Angeles Laker \u2014 made the remarks as he received an award Tuesday for both his style and his philanthropy from the Harlem’s Fashion Row. The fashion collective partnered with Nike for the New York event, both a fashion show and an awards ceremony which focused on diversity and inclusivity in the fashion world. The evening culminated in the reveal of the latest LeBron James Nike basketball shoe: a women’s sneaker designed by three female African-American designers and inspired by strong African-American women.<\/p>\n

In emotional remarks, James paid tribute to the three women in his life \u2014 his mother, wife and 3-year-old daughter, Zhuri.<\/p>\n

He noted how his mother had raised him alone, and given him \u201ca sense of pride, a sense of strength, a sense of no worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of you, Gloria James, I’m able to be in a position today where I can give back and showcase why I believe African-American women are the most powerful women in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called his daughter \u201cmy rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always told me if you ever have a girl, she’ll change you,\u201d James said. \u201cI was like, nobody’s changing me, I’m a man.\u201d But she did, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only did she change me, she’s made me a better person,\u201d James said. \u201cA more dedicated person, a stronger person, I guess a more sensitive person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closing his remarks, he said he stood \u201cfor anybody who believes in change.\u201d He added: \u201cI stand with Nike, all day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new endorsement deal between Nike and Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, launched vigorous debate on Tuesday as some fans expressed displeasure over the apparel giant’s support of a player known for starting a wave of protests among NFL players against police brutality, racial inequality and other social issues.<\/p>\n

Some angry fans were even burning and cutting out the signature swoosh logos on their gear \u2014 and posting the results on social media.<\/p>\n

But Kaepernick and his Nike campaign, which marks the 30th anniversary of Nike’s \u201cJust Do It,\u201d received plenty of support from the fashion world in attendance Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Bethann Hardison, an activist for diversity in fashion and a former supermodel who was also honoured Tuesday, said she was happy with Nike’s move. \u201cIt’s such a divided situation in our world right now,\u201d she said of the negative reaction by some fans. \u201cBut I’m such a huge, huge, wholeheartedly, supporter of Colin that I’m very proud that someone understands what he’s done and (is giving) him some kudos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prominent African-American designer Tracy Reese said she loved the new Nike campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tastefully done,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd really, this is the time to stand up for what you believe in. Colin Kaepernick has done that and I think that we need to follow his example and really go where the heart leads, instead of where everybody expects you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also honoured Tuesday were designer Dapper Dan and stylist Jason Rembert. A fashion show highlighted the work of designers Kimberly Goldson, Undra Duncan and Fe Noel, who together created the new shoe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Clutching his young daughter in his arms, LeBron James said on Tuesday that he ‘stands with Nike,’ …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":180082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","mauthors-jocelyn-noveck","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}