NFL offers measured response to Nike’s Kaepernick ad

Nike’s polarizing decision to put Colin Kaepernick at the center of its latest ad campaign has aggravated NFL employees, infuriated fans and even affected the sneaker giant’s stock. But publicly, at least, the league is playing nice with its corporate partner.

“The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity. We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities,” NFL Executive Vice President Jocelyn Moore said in a statement. “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”

While the NFL issued a gentle statement, some league office staffers have expressed annoyance that a corporate partner would throw the national anthem controversy back into the news cycle only four days before the season’s start.

The Daily Caller reported that President Trump said in an interview Tuesday, “I think it’s a terrible message.” However, the president continued, “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.”

More From FoxNews: