this is "nightline." >> tonight -- >> don't ask if your dreams are crazy. >> taking a stand over taking a knee. colin kaepernick's new nike ad campaign igniting a "just do it" backlash. we tackle the issue. >> i've been hearing that you're willing to take a knee during the game. i'm not happy with that. >> with a special "what would you do" scenario. >> i think you're disrespecting the flag. >> as the anthem debate kicks off another nfl season. plus remembering the bandit. burden reynolds charmed moviegoers in that black trans am and gave us tough guy cool in "deliverance." >> don't beat this river. >> what the wise-cracking star confided to barbara walters about his roles and regrets and

the one that got away. >> are you a swinger? dorm room makeovers. college students who have totally transformed their drab student housing. first the "nightline 5.." >> you've tried moisturizers but there's one that blows them all out of the water. hydro boost water gel from neutrogena. it goes beneath the surface to plump skin cells from within and lock in hydration. leaving skin so supple, it actually bounces back. the results will blow you away. hydro boost. and our gentle exfoliating cleanser from neutrogena. >> number one in just 60 cleanser from neutrogena. >> number one in just 60 seconds. oh! wow, you got all this stuff from ikea? what do you like not let your kids in here? oh, no, they moved in here. here. this is where i hide all the cords and the remotes, and those clack-clack-clack things. so, this is your new bed? let's just say it fits me perfectly. what's your dream? at ikea, we help you live it. make the dream yours. at ikea, we help you live it.

(music throughout) good evening. thank you for joining us. this weekend millions of football fans will be glued to

their seats and couches. but it's the action before kickoff that's back in the spotlight. tonight why nike is not letting former quarterback colin kaepernick be sidelined. >> if people say your dreams are crazy -- >> reporter: it's a bold move for a familiar brand. >> believe in something. even if it means sacrificing everything. >> reporter: the latest version of nike's signature "just do it" commercial, making his television debut during last night's nfl season opener. >> don't ask if your dreams are crazy. ask if they're crazy enough. >> reporter: the multi-media campaign beginning earlier this week with the announcement, colin kaepernick as the new face of nike. >> in the history of sports no campaign, no ad campaign, is bigger than "just do it." michael jordan, tiger woods, kobe bryant. for them to pick colin kaepernick, a guy who is not playing right now but has a huge

social footprint is something that we haven't seen before in sports. >> reporter: the choice of kaepernick and the simple slogan "believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything," immediately reigniting the long-simmering controversy over nfl players' first amendment rights, creating a literal firestorm of outrage. fans burning their nike gear in protest. >> sorry, nike. i've been buying you the past 20-plus years. not anymore. >> i understand both sides. i think that it is important that people stand their ground and make a statement. i support nike. >> i think it's phenomenal, it's a really good move by nike. >> reporter: one of the most vocal critics of players kne kneeling during the national anthem, president trump, who's used the debate as a rallying cry for nearly a year. >> wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, which somebody disrespects our flag, to say, get that [ bleep ] off the field right now, out, he's fired. you're disrespecting our flag and you're disrespecting our

country. >> reporter: tweeting on the issue several times this week, strongly defending his view in an interview with fox news. >> i don't like what nike did. i don't think it's appropriate what they do. i honor the flag. i honor our national anthem. >> reporter: but for others, it's not quite as clear-cut. in this episode of "what would you do?" emotional reaction as americans are confronted with the taking the knee question. in barnstown, kentucky, an actor playing a high school football player approaches his coach. >> i've been hearing you're willing to take a knee during the game and i'm not happy. >> reporter: it's staged but the bystanders are real. this couple overhears the conversation. >> why would you want to kneel during the anthem? >> because it shows that we're standing up against police brutality. >> reporter: they stay silent as the coach issues his ultimatum. >> i've got the right to kick you off my team. >> are you serious? >> reporter: when the coach storms out -- >> i'm out of here.

>> i understand why you're doing it. >> reporter: she let him know she's on his team. >> i think it's good. >> i disagree. i think you're disrespecting the flag. there's a time and place to show what you stand up for. but i don't think disrespecting the flag is part of it. >> reporter: turns out this husband and wife are just as divided as the rest of america. >> that's something that's very strong to me. >> to me it's not disrespect respecting the flag. that's how you draw attention to things, peaceful protests. >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: later in the episode the team formation is switched. this high school football coach butts heads over the issue with his white team captain. >> i don't understand why you want to kneel, it doesn't affect you at all, you're white. >> reporter: the onlookers are marine veterans. >> i was military. that does offend me big-time, kneeling. that is super disrespectful. >> reporter: but the most passionate argent supporting the coach and condemning the player's protest. >> it's very disrespectful to military personnel, to everybody who has fought for your freedom to be able to do that, to kneel

on that field. i try to bite my tongue on it. i can't. i mean, i can't. that is just -- roll your eyes one more time. please stop. >> sir, i'm not rolling my eyes. >> do not do that, that makes me very livid. kneeling for the national anthem is like spitting in my face. to all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives and have died, that is who you're kneeling on. please think long and hard on what you're really doing. don't just do it because everybody else is doing it. >> reporter: but with this new campaign, nike is taking a gamble on such a divisive issue. >> for years, nike would not want to wade into anything that would alienate a segment of society. which is what makes this the move with colin kaepernick so unique. can you see ♪ >> reporter: during last night's kickoff game between the philadelphia eagles and atlanta falcons, boyz ii men sang the national anthem. no one took a knew. eagles player michael bennet

chose to take a seat as the song came to an end but that action was not televised. for bennett, protest is personal. last summer the defensive end, then playing for the seattle seahawks -- was pinned down by las vegas police officer, seen here in this video obtained by tmz sports. >> everybody out! >> we were in a casino. somebody said it was a gun. then that's when everything, everybody was on the ground crawling, trying to get out. people started moving really fast. >> reporter: bennett claims he was a victim of racial profiling by police. allegations the las vegas metropolitan police department denied in a press conference last year. >> i see no evidence that race played any role in this incident. >> reporter: i spoke with him a month later. what did he say with the gun to your head? >> i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off if you move. >> by all accounts michael bennet is one of the good guys in the nfl. how does this happen to you?

>> i'm a black man. through all the stuff i've done in society, whether it's foundation, maturity things, working with military kids, working with kids in haiti, all over the world, here in the united states -- at the end of the day, i'm still a black man. >> reporter: before the incident, bennett had been protesting for racial equality on and off the field. for those who would say your stance is unamerican, not to stand during the national anthem, you say? >> i say, at this point, i think it's unamerican what happened to me, you know, unamerican, what happened to eric garner is unhearn, what happened to trayvon martin, the most american thing you can do is fight for equality for everybody. >> reporter: it's this kind of racial profiling colin kaepernick has been protesting for nearly two years. and today former president barack obama weighed in about the national divide. >> common ground exists. i have seen it. i have lived it.

i know there are white people who care deeply about black people being treated unfairly. >> reporter: and yet nfl team owners and players are still struggling with how to find that common ground. debating policies on whether to fine players or teams who protest during the anthem. >> the nfl is trying to please so many different people in their fan base, people who are for and against, they're caught in a catch-22. the nfl in many ways is damned if they do, damned if they don't. >> believe in something. even if it means sacrificing everything. >> reporter: whether seen as a thought leader or troublemaker, nike is in the business of making a profit. they will keep making money as america's divide over race and justice continues. up next, the devilishly handsome movie star who liked to make us laugh. the life, career, and secret love of burt reynolds. keep those shrimp comin'!

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burt reynolds' rugged charm and quick wit made him the talk of hollywood in the '70s and '80s. a look back at a career that spanned decades. the movie star confided in barbara walters about his life and his love. >> talk to me, good buddy. >> reporter: behind the wheel. on the football field. in the back woods. >> sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything. >> reporter: and across from barbara walters. >> are you a swinger? >> no. >> reporter: burt reynolds was a guy's guy with a good-time grin.

his rugged, manly appeal made him wildly popular in movies and tv for decades as an actor and showbiz personality. >> you said too that you're the only movie star who became a movie star in spite of his pictures, not because of them. >> reporter: he was always quick to laugh at himself. >> i'd like to be a successfully married person. but obviously not enough. >> reporter: and let others joke at his expense. >> yeah, what do you want? >> reporter: the "snl" impersonation became legendary. >> i found this backstage. the oversized hat. it's funny. >> no, it's not! >> it's funny. because it's bigger than a normal hat. >> reporter: his own comedic timing hard to beat. >> sorry, i don't want to get married. >> terrific. that makes two of us. >> reporter: but perhaps most famously he was a sex symbol. his high-okay tape movies were not staples on the awards circuit but he ruled the box office the late '70s into the

'80s, delighting audiences costarring alongside female icons like dolly parton, singing duets together in "the best little whorehouse in texas." ♪ sneaking around with you going around that too ♪ ♪ doing what lovers do whenever they're sneaking around ♪ >> reporter: parton tweeting, i know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eye, and his quirky sense of humor. you will always be my favorite sheriff. in the 1977 classic "smokey and the bandit" with sally field -- >> you got a great profile. >> yeah, i do, don't i? especially from the side. >> well, at least we finally agree on something. >> yeah, we both like half my face. >> reporter: he and sally field would be romantically involved off the set. the actor telling lara spencer in an interview about their love story. >> you say, if we watch "smokey and the bandit," we'll see you and sally field falling in love

on camera. >> that's true. she was the love of my life. i really think to this day she's the most special woman i've ever dated. >> reporter: reynolds spoke to barbara walters in 1980 about their relationship ending. >> hardest lesson i ever hard to learn in my life was that the person that you fall in love with and the person that falls in love with you is not necessari necessarily, as a matter of fact, a lot of the time, can be the worst person to spend the rest of your life with. >> reporter: field releasing this statement upon his death. my years with burt never leave my mind. he will be in my history and my heart for as long as i live. there were more women and more movies. in 1981's "cannonball run," thes looking likee s having the time of his life. his romantic life fodder for the tabloids. featuring a relationship with farrah fawcett, dinah shore, a brief marriage to loni anderson.

he sat down with barbara walters three times over the course of his career to discuss life and love. >> i'll use an analogy. there's an old bull and a young bull on top of a hill. they look down. the young bull's the swinger. he says, let's go down there and make love to every one of those cows down there. let's run down there and take them all. and the old bull says, let's walk down there and take every one of them, one at a time, get to know them and love understand them. i'm not either one of those bulls. >> what you are is full of bull. >> that's what i am, that story has absolutely nothing to do with me. >> reporter: before he was a movie star, burt was a high school football star and played college ball at florida state, go 'noles. his acting career took flight on prime television, playing rebels on hit series like "gun smoke." 1972 saw him give perhaps his most acclaimed performance,

harrowing drama "deliverance." >> did we beat that? >> you don't beat it. you don't beat this river. >> reporter: he later returned to tv, winning an emmy in 1991 for "evening shade." >> well, you know. all those pictures, navajo joe, they paid off, you know? [ laughter ] >> reporter: while challenged by health and financial problems later in life, in 1997, he made a major comeback in "boogie nights" playing a porn director. >> you know, this is a film i want them to rememberby. >> rr: earning a nomination for an oscar, winning a golden globe. reynolds had his pick of blockbuster roles but he turned down the chance to play some iconic characters. in his final interview with barbara walters in 1998, reynolds had the last laugh. >> you either have very bad judgment or you're very unlucky. >> or generous. >> reporter: it became a

long-standing joke. recently he dished about it with andy cohen on "watch what happens live." reynolds still laughing. >> you were up for the role of michael corleone in "the godfather." the original james bond, "terms of endearment," "pretty woman." why did you pass? >> because i'm an idiot. >> reporter: he wrote in his memoir, i always wanted to experience everything and go down swinging. well, so far, so good. nobody had more fun than i did. >> i just go from place to place. do what i do best. >> what's that? >> show up. >> yeah. you do do that well. up next, dorm room makeovers. college students making their drab dorm rooms unrecognizable.

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finally tonight, when i was back in college i was lucky if i

had one poster on the wall. today's students, a little more conscious of dorm room decor. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. greer. >> welcome tolal ole miss. >> welcome to our little closet hole. >> reporter: a new generation of college students are going from drab dorm decor to super stylish. and sharing it all on instagram. it's keeping up with the joneses for generation z. >> we knew that our rooms were going to be small and we had to work with the space well. >> reporter: college students getting creative with small spaces and small budgets. >> we got the rugs at marshall's, the giant rug at bed, bath & beyond. >> reporter: hitting up friends and family. >> we went in knowing we wanted this table. so my dad actually made this mself. d-fashnelbarpenter to make a

cabinet. >> reporter: how does someone get the dorm of their dreams? >> one of my biggest tips that i always tell the customer is to be creative with your space. your dorm most of the time is going to be really small. >> reporter: frances lacefield is the 26-year-old founder of room 422, a one-stop shop for unique dorm decor, helping college students turn their home away from home into home sweet home. her products transforming dorm rooms like this one at st. george towers at educational housing services in brooklyn. from this to this. >> ta-da! >> for a lot of people, going to college is a big step. that first step of independence. and, you know, they're in a new environment. they want to make it homie, their style. they want their dorm, where you're going to spend a lot of time, to really feel comfortable. >> kids these days. thank you for watching "nightline." as always, on your "nightline" facebook page. thanks for the company, america, have a good weekend.

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