“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” seems to have had a profound effect on one Colorado Springs sports store owner.
Stephen Martin decided to stop selling Nike products after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his protest of the national anthem. Now, his store is closing.
Martin, who owns Prime Time Sports in Colorado Springs, “canceled an autograph signing with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall after Marshall joined the ranks of protesting players, The Washington Post reported. He began posting thousands of pictures of American servicemen and women and veterans, and stopped selling Nike products after Kaepernick became the face of the company.
“Being a sports store without Nike is like being a gas station without gas,” joked an interview with the Post.
To be fair, Martin may have been in this situation even if he still sole Nike products, as the mall containing his store is one of many losing business. The Sears will close soon, the Post reported, and a nearby Dick’s Sporting Good takes Martin’s business.
After Kaepernick received the Nike contract, Martin closed his shop for the day and reopened the next with signs plastered around the store reading, “ALL NIKE 1/2 PRICE. ‘JUST DOING IT,’” according to the Post. He also stopped ordering from the sports merchandiser.
“But making a proclamation like that irrevocably hurt his business. Nike is the NFL’s official apparel sponsor. Going without its products — and selling the remaining ones at a steep discount — meant no more Nike NFL jerseys or T-shirts or hoodies. It meant significantly less merchandise on the shelves from some of the nation’s most popular college teams, too,” the Post reported.
Still, Martin said he made $13,000 more during Christmas 2018 than he did during Christmas 2017, and told the Post that customers asked to shake his hand and thank him for standing up for our nation’s veterans.
But selling $320,000 worth of Nike products at severely discounted rates took a toll, and Martin is now forced to close up shop.
“PRIME TIME SPORTS is closing. All merchandise 40% OFF,” he wrote last week on Facebook. “Thank You for 21 mostly good years. For everybody that has offered help and support through the ‘Honor The Flag’ memorial wall and NIKE boycott, now is your time to help me liquidate.”
Closing his store causes additional problems for Martin, according to the Post. He owes more than $60,000 in back rent to the company that owns the mall and is halfway through his 10-year lease.
“I’m in a scary place,” he told the Post. “I’m hoping that they’ll work with me. And I’ve been open with them. I’m 64 years old headed into retirement. I can’t pay 350 grand, but I can pay something. I’m worth something.”
Martin isn’t against social justice, per se, he just didn’t see the point in Kaepernick’s anthem protest.
“There is social injustice in the criminal justice system,” he told the Post. “Oh my God, Trayvon [Martin], Rodney King. These things are documented and filmed.”
While Martin is closing up shop, Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, settled his lawsuit with the NFL in an undisclosed agreement.