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An endorsement deal between Nike and Colin Kaepernick prompted a flood of debate Tuesday as sports fans reacted to the apparel giant backing an athlete known mainly for starting a wave of protests among NFL players of police brutality http://www.officialhockeyrangersshop.com/authentic-adidas-marc-staal-jersey , racial inequality and other social issues.

The deal unveiled by Nike and the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was a trending topic on Twitter and other social networks, with some fans urging a boycott of the company’s clothes and sneakers — even burning and cutting out the signature swoosh logos on their gear.

Others pushed back, saying the backlash against Nike showed the polarizing debate has morphed well beyond whether NFL players should be allowed to demonstrate for social causes while the national anthem plays in stadiums before games.

The league itself weighed in Tuesday afternoon with an executive saying the social issues Kaepernick has raised are valid.

“We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities,” said Jocelyn Moore, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications and public affairs. “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”

Moore’s statement was paired with a detailed breakdown of things players and league executives have done together to learn about and address social issues, including community meetings, lobbying and financially supporting local programs.

On Twitter, country music star John Rich posted a picture of one of his crew members holding the tops of a cut pair of Nike socks, with the caption: “Get ready @Nike multiply that by the millions.” The tweet garnered about 10,000 retweets and 30,000 likes, plus thousands of critical comments.

Rich, part of the duo Big & Rich and a former contestant of President Donald Trump’s reality show “The Celebrity Apprentice,” said he supported the right to protest but Nike lost his support when it endorsed Kaepernick.

Mixed martial arts fighter Elias Theodorou, a UFC middleweight, tweeted a widely shared picture of the Nike logo with a meme that read: “Instead of throwing away your Nike gear give to one of the millions of homeless veterans you pretend to care about.”

Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said: “I hope other corporations follow (Nike’s) example.”

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, tweeted: “Proud to be an @usnikefootball athlete. Stand for something or fall for anything. Few moments in history has that been more true!”

Trump, a frequent critic of protesting NFL players, said Tuesday in an interview with the Daily Caller that he thinks it’s a “terrible message” for Nike to use Kaepernick in ads http://www.officialhockeyjetsshop.com/authentic-adidas-jacob-trouba-jersey , but that it’s their decision whether to use the quarterback.

“I think it’s a terrible message that they’re sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there’s a reason for them doing it,” Trump said, adding it’s “a message that shouldn’t be sent.”

Trump said it’s ultimately a business decision for Nike.

“In another way, it is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn’t do, but I personally am on a different side of it,” he said.

Trump has loudly urged the league to suspend or fire players who demonstrate during the anthem, repeatedly diving into what has developed into one of the most contentious debates in sports.

Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear deal to make him one of the faces of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign, according to a person familiar with the contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Nike hasn’t officially announced the contract.

The person said Nike will feature Kaepernick on several platforms, including billboards, television commercials and online ads. Nike also will create an apparel line for Kaepernick, including a signature shoe, and contribute to his Know Your Rights charity, the person said. The deal puts Kaepernick in the top bracket of NFL players with Nike.

“I stand for anybody that believes in change. I stand for anybody that believes in a positive attitude,” LeBron James said Tuesday night at a Nike fashion show and awards ceremony in New York. “I stand with Nike, every day, all day.”

Nike also provides all NFL teams with game day uniforms and sideline apparel, a partnership that was extended in March to run through 2028.

Last week Authentic Mikael Backlund Jersey , Kaepernick scored a legal victory in his grievance against the NFL and its 32 teams when an arbitrator allowed his case to continue to trial. The quarterback claims that owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests. His case hinges on whether owners worked together rather than decided individually to not sign Kaepernick.

A similar grievance is still pending by former 49ers teammate Eric Reid, a Pro Bowl safety who joined in the protests.

Meanwhile, the league and players union still haven’t resolved whether players will be punished this season if they choose to kneel or demonstrate during the national anthem. Owners approved a policy requiring players to stand if they are on the sideline during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” allowing them to stay off the field if they wish.

But the league and union put that on hold after the Miami Dolphins faced backlash for classifying the protests as conduct potentially detrimental to the team — putting players at risk of fines or suspensions.

Finally, after a 14-year absence, the long-languishing franchise is back in the playoffs.

Fittingly, it took until the last game and then some to get there.

Butler scored 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and the Timberwolves outlasted the Denver Nuggets 112-106 in overtime Wednesday night in the first final-day play-in game in the NBA in 21 years.

No team in the league had gone longer without a postseason appearance than the Timberwolves, who took Towns with the first overall pick in the 2015 draft and traded for Butler last summer to put themselves in position to return.

”I’ll probably fall asleep tonight and wake up in the middle of the night and start crying,” said Towns, who was 8 years old the last time the Wolves were in the playoffs. ”It’ll hit me, what happened.”

The Nuggets won six in a row to force this elimination game, including a 100-96 decision in Denver last week that was the last time the Wolves (47-35) played without Butler, and went 23-12 over their previous 35 contests.

Nikola Jokic locked in a classic big man battled with Towns, finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds, but he missed six of his last eight shots after the third quarter as the valiant finish to this season fell just short. The Nuggets (46-36) haven’t made the playoffs in five years.

Now it’s the Timberwolves who are moving on to play, gulp, the NBA-best Houston Rockets.

”I feel like our effort was outstanding. Theirs was too Patrick Marleau Jersey ,” said Will Barton, who had 24 points but shot just 3 for 12 after halftime. ”They just made the plays at the end. Give them credit.”

Barton’s 3-pointer beat the shot clock for Denver’s first lead, 104-103, since midway through the first quarter. After Gibson hounded Jokic to force an air-balled 3-point try, Jeff Teague swished a floater with 1:19 left in overtime to put the Wolves back in front for good.

Andrew Wiggins sank two foul shots with 15 seconds remaining to make it 110-106 and finish with 18 points, and the Wolves were finally on their way to a celebration more than a decade in the making. Butler, who has not held back from openly challenging Wiggins and the other junior members of the team to play with more tenacity, walked up to Wiggins before the free throws with some forceful encouragement.

”I was like, `Wiggs, I know you can do this,”’ Butler said. ”And he told me to move. He did. He’s like, `Move!’ I’m like, `OK, excuse me.’ And he stepped up and hit both of them. So, from now on, stay in my lane.”

The Wolves were ahead by as many as 10 points in the second quarter and took a 99-91 lead on Teague’s 3-pointer with 4:26 left in regulation, but just like with this whole regular season the Nuggets wouldn’t go away.

Jokic answered with a 3-pointer, and Butler missed both of his free throws. Back-to-back jumpers by Jamal Murray, the last one from 3-point range, tied it. Butler put the Wolves back in front with a 13-footer Authentic Ezekiel Elliott Jersey , but he missed twice more from the floor in the final two minutes. Murray’s off-balance bank tied it at 101, so the Wolves needed Gibson’s defense to save them down the stretch.

He forced Jokic into the baseline for a forced layup that missed badly. Then Gibson stripped the ball from the 7-foot Serbian in the corner to give the Wolves the ball back with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Jamal Crawford’s heave from just inside half court was on line, but it fell short.

”I just took one dribble,” Jokic said, ”and Taj made a really good defensive play.”

PLAY NOW, REST LATER

Gibson played through a sore neck that forced him out of the last game in the first quarter, finishing with eight points in 35 minutes. Butler logged 42 minutes after playing 23 minutes apiece in his previous two games.

”He told me after the shootaround that he’s from Brooklyn,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, ”and he said he’d be fine.”

DRAMATIC FINISH

The game marked only the third time since the NBA’s current 16-team format began in 1984 that two teams met on the last day of the regular season with the winner qualifying for the playoffs and the loser being eliminated. Washington beat Cleveland in 1997 and Denver beat Sacramento in 1995 to claim the final spots.

DIVISION DOMINANCE

With the loss, the Nuggets finished last in the Northwest Division, a mere three games out of first. This was the first time in 14 seasons since the NBA realigned into six divisions of five times apiece that the last-place team was less than 11 games behind the leader.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Jokic posted his seventh 30-point game of the season, three of those in the last six games. … Wilson Chandler went scoreless in 48 minutes. … The Nuggets had 15 turnovers, turning into 24 points for the Wolves.

”You can’t go on the road and beat yourself in the most important game of the season,” coach Mike Malone said.

Timberwolves: Towns finished the season with 68 double-doubles, the most in the NBA. His streak of 246 consecutive games played, every contest of his career, is the longest current run in the league. … This was the 16th sellout crowd for the Wolves, their most since the 1991-92 season.

UP NEXT

The Wolves will start the first round in Houston, on either Saturday or Sunday.

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