A Seal Beach, California, school principal is under fire after she shared a decidedly anti-Nike Facebook post.
The principal's social media post expressed sentiments that she was displeased with the company's decision to use former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick as the face of their new "Just Do It" campaign.
Now she's facing mounting criticism from parents and the community, and a petition was launched calling for the teacher to act more responsibly.
At the time of this writing, the petition has received over 2,000 signatures.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, J.H. McGaugh Elementary School principal Roni Burns-Ellis shared a photo of a torn up Nike T-shirt and captioned it, "My newest rag! When Nike signs an anti-American thug to represent their brand, I will not support, wear, purchase, or endorse their product."
"Bye-bye, Nike," she concluded.
After receiving heavy criticism for her post, Burns-Ellis issued an apology, according to KABC-TV.
The school district also issued a statement in response to the backlash the principal received as a result of the posting.
Superintendent Sherry Kropp told KABC, "We need to always be conscientious about approaching differences in a respectful manner and about the use and impact of social media. I understand that what someone writes publicly does reflect on us and can damage the good work we are doing. We care deeply about all students and want them to thrive in a diverse society."
The petition condemned Burns-Ellis' posting, calling for the school's leaders to "act responsibly" and "not engage in name-calling."
This is a petition gathered by Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and Seal Beach families and community members. We wanted to express our concern for a public statement that was made yesterday by Principal Roni Burns-Ellis. Los Alamitos Schools are known for their excellence in academics, sports, and character. As our country has become divided and name calling and hate has become normalized, we were particularly disheartened by her comment on Facebook yesterday in which she posted a photo of a cut-up Nike shirt and stated, "My newest rag! When Nike signs an anti-American thug to represent their brand, I will not support, wear, purchase, or endorse their product. Bye-bye Nike." In the Webster's dictionary, "thug" was the name given by the British in India in the 19th century to a member of a band of thieves and murderers. We may disagree but we hope our Los Alamitos School leaders will always act civilly, treat each other with respect, and not engage in name calling. Our children view the teachers and principals as a beacon of moral character. We hope our school leaders will act responsibly and will walk with kindness as they lead our children with their actions.
