The ink was barely dry on an endorsement deal between Nike, Inc. and sometime NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick that included the latter's becoming one of the public faces of the company's "Just Do It" campaign when reports surfaced online that the agreement had already been rescinded.
Kaepernick became a controversial figure in 2016 after "taking a knee" during the playing of the national anthem to protest the oppression of people of color. He is currently without an NFL contract.
According to a 3 September 2018 article on the junk news website Last Line of Defense, Nike decided to nix the deal because of new "anti-white attacks" on the part of Kaepernick:
As you’ve probably heard, anti-American NFL washout Colin Kaepernick was recently named the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. Kaepernick, who is currently suing NFL owners for “collusion” against him after he was deemed unfit to play in the NFL, became famous with liberals when he disrespected our flag and country by kneeling during the National Anthem to protest law enforcement.
The contact [sic] is a “wide endorsement” that was to include shoes, shirts, jerseys and more branded in Kaepernick’s name. But there’s a problem — Kaepernick lost the endorsement almost as soon as he got it when his anti-white attacks got him in trouble with Nike leadership.
“Those crackers won’t know what hit them,” Kaepernick told a friend at a party celebrating his new deal. “The rednecks at Fox News and all those other honkeys will have to deal with the fact that I’m rolling in dough.”
The story was completely false, however. No such reports appeared in mainstream news venues. No reliable sources reported that Kaepernick was caught making "anti-white attacks." And despite a backlash against the Kaepernick deal that included calls for a consumer boycott of Nike products and caused the company's stock prices to fall, Nike showed no indications of backing out of the deal.
Last Line of Defense is a self-styled "satirical" website that publishes clickbait articles meant to spoof conservative political opinions and antagonize those who hold such opinions. A disclaimer on the site reads:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
In a related story, the same website falsely claimed that the federal government canceled an $80 million contract with Nike, Inc. because the Kaeperinick endorsement shows the company "hates America."