NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Tiger Woods responded favorably to Nike’s ad featuring Colin Kaepernick that ran for the first time during Thursday night’s season-opening NFL game, saying, “It’s a beautiful spot.”
Woods is a longtime Nike endorser who started with the company on the day he turned professional in 1996.
“I think Nike is trying to get out ahead of it and trying to do something special, and I think they’ve done that,” Woods said at the BMW Championship. “It’s a beautiful spot and pretty powerful people in the spot.”
The ad is narrated by Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who has been out of the league the past two seasons in the aftermath of his protests.
The spot touches on the controversy of NFL players protesting racial inequality, police brutality and other issues by demonstrating during the playing of the national anthem.
Woods said he was not made aware that the ad was coming out before it was announced earlier this week.
Woods signed his first endorsement contract with Nike in 1996 and has remained with the company ever since, helping it bring golf clubs and balls to the market in the late 1990s while remaining as an endorser of apparel and the brand after Nike left the hard goods business two years ago.
Two weeks ago, Woods was asked about his relationship with President Donald Trump, who has spoken out against the NFL and the protests. Woods, who has played golf with Trump (as well as three other presidents) tried to avoid controversy by saying it was important to “respect the office.”