Nike ad features Paralympian

It hurts me a little bit to post this ad for discussion. I participated in protests at my university when the sports department contracted with Nike. I overcame my significant fear of public speaking to join with a local union and represent NOW to the Board of Regents. That was a decade ago and Nike still sucks.

But they do have this commercial (also embedded below) airing this weekend that will feature Paralympian basketball player Matt Scott. The news about the ad:

Nike's New Year television commercial will feature University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wheelchair basketball player Matt Scott.

Scott, a senior from Detroit, Mich., and a member of the U.S. Paralympic Basketball team, will appear in Nike's "No Excuses" commercial. The spot is the latest in the company's series of "Just Do It" ads.

Throughout the commercial, Scott bounces a basketball and takes shots at the hoop, while reciting a long list of excuses people use to avoid working out and staying in shape. The spot ends with Scott in his wheelchair, slamming down two basketballs simultaneously and saying the final excuse, "And my feet hurt." He then wheels out of the gymnasium.

The commercial will air on New Year's Eve on ESPN and MTV and on New Year's Day on FOX, ESPN, the NFL Network, BET, the Comedy Channel, FUSE, ABC Family and others.
"Overcoming a disability and striving for athletic excellence is certainly not for the weak," Scott said. "I am proud I was chosen to represent disabled athletes and show that we do not make excuses."

The brief description of the ad above is not bad. Scott is a large attractive black man wearing a black Nike shirt and a black knit cap. The ad is a full minute long and while he offers all the common and ridiculous excuses people give for not exercising, he bounces a basketball out of camera view. The camera moves and the shot is repeatedly edited so that his wheelchair does not show until the final image of him turning and wheeling from the gym.