Critics of the new Nike ad featuring national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick, say that a better face for the sportswear giant’s campaign would have been former Arizona Cardinals player and Afghan War hero Pat Tillman.

Nike released its new “Just Do It” ad featuring Kaepernick late on Monday night. But the campaign met with immediate condemnation.

The ad features an extreme close-up of Kaepernick gazing into the camera with the caption, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” over his face.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO — Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018

But many feel there is a far more worthy face for the Nike 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign than former San Francisco 49ers second-string quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, some fans are suggesting the shoe maker feature Tillman instead of Kaepernick.

“Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals football player, and Army Ranger, was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire in 2004,” the paper reported. “Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, saying he was drawing attention to racial inequality.”

As soon as Nike’s Kaepernick ad hit the Internet, supporters of Tillman leaped into action:

Pat Tillman was a NFL football player that quit the NFL to join the army after 9/11. In 2004 he died in Afghanistan due to friendly fire. pic.twitter.com/qUbOYn7R87 — KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) September 4, 2018

Just putting it out there that Pat Tillman sacrificed just a *bit more than Colin Kaepernick. — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) September 3, 2018

Hey @nike instead of paying punks who advance anti-American lies like @Kaepernick7 why don't you pay Pat Tillman's family for the rights to use his image – A REAL HERO who sacrificed everything! Why promote someone who blames racism for the fact he can't compete in the NFL? — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 4, 2018

Believe in something.

Even if it means sacrificing everything. pic.twitter.com/xWtWZQLYil — Doug Collins (@Douglas_Collins) September 3, 2018

https://twitter.com/kingjustin1996/status/1036796903734882304

Still, Tillman’s widow asked people not to politicize her husband’s name telling the Republic that Tillman’s service “should never be politicized in a way that divides us.”

In the meantime, Nike has already suffered a financial consequence for choosing Kaepernick for its campaign:

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.