Less than a week after issuing a memorandum forbidding Nike purchases with city funding, Kenner, Louisiana, Mayor E. Ben Zahn has rescinded his own directive, citing the advice of the city attorney.
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During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, from a podium thoughtfully placed in front of a fighter jet housed in the New Orleans suburb’s Veterans Memorial Park, Zahn barely apologized for his bad choices. Predictably, he was careful not to mention Colin Kaepernick’s name, or his ongoing activism against racism and police brutality.
Acting upon advice from the city attorney, I have rescinded my memorandum of September 5th, 2018. That memorandum divided our city, and placed Kenner in a false and unflattering light on the national stage. I am passionate about my country, and the brave men and women who put themselves on the front line every day. In the name of protecting us all, members of the armed forces, our fire departments, our police departments, ACTUALLY sacrificed everything—their very lives. It is because of those sacrifices that my patriotism will not waver, but my focus needs to be on the city of Kenner and the many great projects we have for our city. Nothing can be allowed to distract us from that very important endeavor.
The ban memo also placed the city’s parks and recreation purchasing process under increased oversight, ostensibly in order to protect residents from the Great Swoosh Menace.
Under no circumstances will any Nike product or any product with the Nike logo be purchased for use or delivery at any City of Kenner recreation facility.
The memo didn’t gain public attention until Saturday, when it drew swift and widespread criticism, first from the Kenner community, and then from greater New Orleans. Zahn found himself facing condemnation across the country by Monday. Undeterred, Zahn doubled down on his edict just before a scheduled community protest against it, insisting he was protecting taxpayers from dangerous corporate politics, instead of, you know, institutionalized oppression. It’s a matter of fairness, see?
My internal memo draws the line on letting companies profit from taxpayers by espousing political beliefs. My decision disallowing Nike from profiting from our taxpayers while they are using their powerful voice as a political tool is my message. This government will not let taxpayer dollars be used to promote a company's or individual's political position, platform or principle. That's my position as a matter of fairness to all.
Monday’s protest drew hundreds from the city of about 67,000, including members of the New Orleans Saints. While just one member of the city’s seven-person city council spoke out against the ridiculous ban (yes, it was the black guy), politicians from across the state blasted Zahn for his terrible decision. A local church created a Change.org petition calling for the ban to be retracted; as of this writing it has over 1,500 signatures.
Nevertheless, Zahn remained unmoved.
U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, whose district includes the southern portion of Kenner, and who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, tore Zahn a new one on Tuesday, pointing out his skewed priorities.
We should take a moment to question why Nike is the top priority for a local politician when his residents face a variety of social and economic challenges. Mayor Zahn is imposing his personal beliefs onto Little League players, and I strongly oppose his stance.
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Using the current controversy surrounding Nike's support of Colin Kaepernick as an excuse to rob resources from those who need it most in Kenner is a clear sign of Mayor Zahn's pandering at the expense of the very children he is entrusted with guiding. It is shameful to divide such a close-knit community just for national political attention.
Still, Zahn stood by his ban.
Then the ACLU entered the fray.
On Wednesday, the ACLU and the ACLU of Louisiana sent a letter to Mayor Zahn informing him that his actions violate the First Amendment and advising him to rescind his policy immediately. We have taken this action because Zahn’s policy violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on content and viewpoint discrimination. It prevents booster clubs from purchasing Nike’s products based solely on the mayor’s opposition to Nike’s political expression.
How do we know this? Because Zahn said so himself.
Additional protests were scheduled for Sunday in cities like Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and even Houston.
At the rescinding press conference, Zahn was reluctant to own up to his fuck-up, instead choosing to paint a picture where everyone understood his supposedly pure intentions.
When he was asked Wednesday whether he consulted his city attorney before he issued the ban, Zahn said: "There was consulting, but the city attorney at that point was understanding the motivation, what I was trying to do, and the Legal Department has stood behind that. But of course now we are seeing where this is going and we wanted to stop."
Whether "where this is going" meant the outside legal advice prevailed, or that Zahn merely regretted the divisive effect of his order, he did not say.
As we all know, impact always trumps intent. And clearly Zahn wasn’t ready for this kind of impact.
Meanwhile, Nike continues to be an outrageously successful athletic apparel and footwear company, impervious to all boycotts, whether inspired by its endorsement of Colin Kaepernick, its unfettered culture of sexism, or its use of sweatshop labor.