During question-and answer session Adidas’ North American President said the athletic company is interested in signing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick–as soon as he signs with an NFL team.
Mark King, President of Adidas’ North American operations said Friday in a Q&A at Arizona State University’s Global Sport Summit that Adidas doesn’t want to appear that it is “taking advantage of this noise or interest that he had generated. If he signs on a team, we would definitely want to sign him.”
King also had this to say:
We’re not in the business of activism, we’re in the business of sport. But allowing our athletes to tell their story, it’s really important to us.”
“We love athletes that have a platform to make the world a better place. If they’re an activist in a way that brings attention to something that moves the world forward, even if there’s controversy at that moment, we’re really interested in those athletes because I think it represents the world today.” -Mark King
Kaepernick made news around the country when he kneeled in protest during the national anthem in protest of the rash of police killings of several black men and women.
Kaepernick’s protests and outspokenness on this issue is a prime driver of why he is currently not on an NFL roster. A recent workout that was scheduled for the Seattle Seahawks was cancelled after he declined to say his protest were over.
