Nike is treating the NFL like a defenseless receiver being smashed by an intimidating free safety. Sources have told The Post the league was caught “off-guard” by Nike’s decision to use Colin Kaepernick in its latest campaign ad. Executives who have worked for the NFL and with the league said that the NFL, behind the scenes, has to be livid. Kaepernick’s new Nike commercial, which was released Wednesday, will be a part of NBC’s Thursday night opener between the Falcons and Eagles, according to ESPN. Kaepernick is suing the NFL because he feels he has been blackballed because of his anthem protests. Still, there is nothing the NFL can do. The NFL does have an approval process for its advertising, but an NFL source said the Kaepernick ad would not violate any policy. The league was caught “off-guard,” a source said, by Nike’s inclusion of Kaepernick in its latest campaign, but in its statement it wanted to show support. TV and league executives who have been involved with the NFL for years imagine that the league is “pissed,” to use one official’s term, about how Nike has magnified the anthem debate. The league is not used to partners defying it — especially in such an in-your-face way. As evidenced by its statement that sort of supported Kaepernick, but was bland enough to not take a side, the league can’t really do anything as its partner, Nike, has made it look small. “They will be above it, like they were with the Will Smith movie,” said a former top TV executive, who has dealt extensively with the NFL for years, referring to Smith’s movie “Concussion,” which emphasized the dangers of the sport. “But behind the scenes, they will be pissed.” The NFL, though, is boxed in, without a way to change Nike’s decision. In 2003, the NFL forced one of its TV partners, ESPN, to cancel the program “Playmakers” because it felt it showed the league in a bad light. But that was a fictional TV series, while this is a real-life story that has caught the attention of the president and has hovered over the league for years. While the NFL’s long-term sponsorship deal with Nike will put a swoosh on every player’s uniform, the company has aligned itself with someone suing the NFL. “It is probably akin to ‘Playmakers’ and ESPN back in the day,” a former NFL executive said. “The difference is they can’t do anything about it, but they can’t be happy about it.” see also Sports anchor Taylor Rooks is more than just a meme Taylor Rooks is moving from the sidelines to the spotlight.... Taylor Rooks is leaving SNY to join Bleacher Report/Turner, sources told The Post. Rooks, 26 and with a large social media following, will have her own show on the B/R platforms, but it is still to be determined on what it will exactly entail. There is a chance she could have some role with Turner on TV, but that is down the line, if it happens. There are no plans for her to be a sideline reporter. Over the summer, the website Awful Announcing had mentioned Rooks could move to B/R. There was some haggling involved because Rooks was still under contract with SNY. The NBA reporting-news carousel took another turn, as Chris Haynes is leaving ESPN to join Yahoo Sports as its NBA insider. The Yahoo NBA opening occurred when Shams Charania left Yahoo to go to Stadium and The Athletic. The news of Haynes’ move was first reported by NBA star Damian Lillard on Twitter.<doc-sep>The first commercial for the much-discussed 30th anniversary Nike campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick is ready for rollout, and will air during Thursday night’s NFL regular-season kickoff game. ‘Just Do It’ According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, the new ad features several prominent athletes who have partnered with Nike, including Serena Williams, LeBron James and Odell Beckham Jr., as well as non-professional athletes who have overcome long odds or bucked tradition. Kaepernick narrates the commercial, and it’s revealed at the end that it’s his voice we’ve heard. Here’s the full ad, which Kaepernick posted on social media: Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/x5TnU7Z51i — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 5, 2018 Is Nike hurting relationship with NFL? One of the big questions as it pertains to Nike and Kaepernick is how the brand would handle things with the NFL, and whether it would air ads during NFL games. There was also a question of whether the league would block such ads; it has stepped in before to block certain Super Bowl ads, and earlier this year, the league declined an advertisement for the Super Bowl program, saying it goes against the desire to keep things apolitical. But now that the news is out that Nike is planning to run an ad featuring Kaepernick during the NFL’s now-signature kickoff event, this year featuring the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles hosting the Falcons, the league would likely take a big hit by not letting it air. Colin Kaepernick is the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary campaign. (AP) Earlier this year, Nike and the league extended their agreement for Nike to produce the league’s uniforms. The eight-year contract begins after the current one ends in 2020. “The NFL and Nike are a powerful combination and we anticipate working closely with them on several programs, including youth and player initiatives,” NFL media and business officer Brian Rolapp said at the time. Story continues But that was before Nike decided to make Kaepernick the centerpiece of its new campaign. Kaepernick has filed suit against the NFL, alleging that owners colluded to keep him out of the league, and last week an arbitrator denied the NFL’s dismissal attempt, meaning the case will move forward. Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts More from Yahoo Sports: • Angry Nike customers are setting their gear on fire • Charles Robinson: ‘The most controversial move that Nike has ever made’ • Pete Thamel: Taggart’s FSU debut goes down in flames • ESPN announcer taken off Washington games<doc-sep>On Sept. 4 Nike unveiled an campaign to mark its anniversary. Former 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick is fronting the ads and that hasn't gone well. The new ad above probably won't help things at all. Conservatives who viewed Kaepernick's protests during the national anthem as an insult to the American flag have been irate for a while, and this reveal sent some into overdrive. (This may be parody, who knows.) ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Nike's shares even dropped. The ad is self-explanatory, but in case you didn't watch: Kaepernick thoughtfully recites inspirational lines about moving ahead in life, about dreaming yourself into another level (sort of). Some of it sounds like boiler plate inspirational life coach stuff, but some of it is also pretty inspiring. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Photo: Getty Images That won't really matter to those who are still angry and slicing swoosh stripes out of their shoes. Since the ad is set to run during the NFL season opener, it might set off some Nike product bonfires. One thing we know: Looks like Nike is rolling with it, and everyone else can deal.<doc-sep>
Nike wants the country to listen to what Colin Kaepernick has to say. And on Thursday, the company will do its best to make that happen by taking on the NFL — which Kaepernick is suing for allegedly colluding to keep him unemployed as punishment for protesting police brutality — on the league’s own turf. During the NFL season opener between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, Nike will air a powerful commercial (as seen above) that celebrates Kaepernick and other athletes while also commemorating the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” ad campaign. The ad begins with an unseen narrator talking about dreams, goals, and striving to do more than you ever thought possible. As the narrator talks about the importance of embracing “crazy” dreams, we see footage and hear stories of incredible accomplishments. Some of the faces achieving those accomplishments are familiar: For example, footage of LeBron James playing basketball, as well as opening a public school, is accompanied by the line, “Don’t become the best basketball player on the planet. Be bigger than basketball.” Then comes the chill-inducing moment: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” the voice says before revealing that Kaepernick has been narrating the entire commercial. The ad closes with footage of a young Serena Williams, as Kaepernick talks about how a girl from Compton didn’t just become a tennis player, but the greatest athlete ever. Kaepernick’s call for people to “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” is a reference to Kaepernick’s battle against the NFL for allegedly colluding to keep the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback out of the league over his protests against racial injustice and the police killings of unarmed black men and women. Kaepernick began kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games in 2016, and went unemployed by the league the following two years. Though Kaepernick and other NFL players who have kneeled during the national anthem maintain that their protest is about police brutality resulting in the deaths of unarmed black Americans, that hasn’t stopped their critics, including President Donald Trump, from claiming that Kaepernick is disrespecting his flag and country. And in the wake of Nike’s ad campaign, which was announced on Monday, Kaepernick’s critics began calling for a Nike boycott, with some people destroying their already purchased Nike apparel. This ad won’t make those people very happy. By kicking off its campaign with Kaepernick and including James and Williams, two transcendent athletes who have endured irrational and political criticism, Nike appears to be reemphasizing its support of Kaepernick and his message — even in the face of NFL owners and Kaepernick’s critics, one of whom is the president of the United States.