Colorado Store to Close After Boycotting Nike Over Kaepernick Ad

A Colorado sports apparel store will shut its doors after its owner stopped selling Nike products because of the company’s support of Colin Kaepernick.

The ad, which said, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” stood out to Stephen Martin when he saw it in September. He decided that he would take a stand against Nike, according to CNN.

He sold off all the Nike products from his sports apparel and memorabilia store, Prime Time Sports, despite knowing that it would damage his sales. He announced this week that his store is set to close.

“Being a sports store without Nike is like being a gas station without gas,” he said Wednesday, according to CNN. “This was never about property to me, this was about principle.”

Martin said that he placed his principles over profits and that he doesn’t regret taking the stance, even though the lost revenue led to his decision to close the store.

“You don’t trample over the men who have given Colin Kaepernick and me the right to free speech,” he said.

Controversy has surrounded the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback after he began to kneel during the national anthem during the 2016 NFL season to protest police brutality and racism. Kaepernick has been accused of not supporting the military and disrespecting the flag while taking up social justice causes.

“I didn’t give in to big Nike and big dollars. I didn’t give in. I did it my way,” Martin told CNN affiliate KOAA.