COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (WSVN) — A Colorado sporting goods store is going out of business after the owner stopped selling Nike products over the company’s advertising campaign with Colin Kaepernick.
Stephen Kurtis Martin, the owner of Prime Time Sports announced on Facebook that his business will be shutting its doors after “21 mostly good years.”
Martin is having a massive sale where everything in the store is 40 percent off.
According to KOAA, Martin said he can’t afford to stay open after he stopped selling Nike products due to their advertising campaign featuring Kaepernick.
“Being a sports store without Nike is kind of like being a milk store without milk or a gas station without gas,” Martin said.
Martin also said that online sales have also contributed to the 15 percent decline in sales he has seen in the last three years.
“As much as I hate to admit this, perhaps there are more Brandon Marshall and Colin Kaepernick supporters out there than I realized,” Martin added.
Despite having to close his store down, Martin said he doesn’t regret his decision to boycott Nike.
“I didn’t give in to big Nike and big dollars. I didn’t give in. I did it my way,” he said. “That part of the military respect that’s in me just cannot be sacrificed or compromised, as I believe Brandon Marshall and Colin Kaepernick both did. I don’t like losing a business over it, but I rather be able to live with myself.”
Martin said he believes the store will close in about a month. He is currently working to help his staff find other jobs.
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