Protest Of Kenner Mayor’s Controversial Nike Ban Draws Huge Crowd

Famous faces and big crowds were on hand for a protest of Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn.

by Alex Galbraith | September 11, 2018

Protesters angered by a recent memo shared by Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn that appeared to ban the use of Nike athletic wear in response to the company’s decision to use former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a spokesman rallied at a Kenner gymnasium on September 10.

The rally, organized by Morrow’s owner Larry Morrow, brought together everyday citizens, activists and even several New Orleans Saints players to speak out against the decision by Mayor Zahn.

 

The “Unity In Community” rally at Susan Park Playground featured quite a few familiar faces including Cam Jordan, Craig Robertson, Terron Armstead and Chris Banjo.

“It’s a time when we need to be coming together,” organizer Morrow said, according to NOLA.com. “What he’s doing right now is dividing us.”

The rally is the latest example of people bristling against Zahn’s decision. Many local politicians have spoken out on the issue as the story gained steam earlier this week.

City councilmember Jay Banks posted to social media against Zahn’s decision while sharing photos from the rally.

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the decision “unpatriotic” on Twitter.

Zahn, for his part, doubled down in a statement responding to the controversy.

“When a company uses its advertising as its own political megaphone, government should be fair to all of its people and not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to help that company push its own political agenda,” he said. “My decision is only to protect taxpayer dollars from being used in a political campaign.”

In short, this fight isn’t going away any time soon. Check out photos from the rally up top.

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Alex Galbraith

Alex Galbraith

He has a distinct voice that you will come to know more as you follow VL NOLA. He has shown himself to be an intrepid entertainment and culture writer, who always knows about the best events, happenings and performers before anybody else. Now, he’s going to tell you all about them here at Very Local NOLA.

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