North Smithfield Town Council Unanimously Rescinds Nike Ban

NORTH SMITHFIELD, RI — The North Smithfield Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to withdraw a resolution urging town employees not to wear Nike products as a protest against the company's use of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in its ads.

Town Council President John Beauregard wrote the measure because he was upset about Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem before games.

The proposal was first introduced at last week's town council meeting. After outrage from school committee members, the ACLU of Rhode Island and the public, Beauregard asked last Wednesday that the council hold a special meeting to rescind the vote.

In a brief meeting Monday night, Beauregard apologized for the attention his proposal brought to town.

"There is clearly a large gap in how we perceive things," Beauregard said.

Despite withdrawing the measure, Beauregard said his opinion of Nike or of Kaepernick has not changed.

"I am not doing this because my views on this subject have changed," Beauregard wrote in a press release last Wednesday. "I still feel as strong about (the) subject today as I did Monday. I am only doing this because of the backlash to my town, the businesses in my town, the schools and all the residents. I don't want to drag anyone into my fight that did not choose to be in it."

Photo credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Staff