Mike Rowe responds to Kaepernick question by invoking 9/11 hero

Is Nike's gamble on Kaepernick paying off?

Nike is a business, and their decision to make Colin Kaepernick the star of their new ad campaign wasn't just a political move, it was a business move. But is it paying off? Sales surged in the days immediately after the campaign's announcement, but Nike stock is still down from where it was at the beginning of the week. #Tucker

Mike Rowe doesn't dispute Colin Kaepernick's right to protest, he just has a different idea of what a hero is.

The 'Dirty Jobs' host posted a message on his Facebook page in response to a fan who asked about Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who is the focal point of a major new Nike ad campaign lauding those who "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

"Hi Sam," Rowe wrote. "Nike's free to celebrate whomever they wish, and Kaepernick is entitled to his opinion -- kneeling, standing, or lying down. But if I was going to put someone's face on a billboard -- someone who epitomized bravery and sacrifice -- I might have gone another way, especially this time of year. I might have gone with this guy -- Tom Burnett."

Who is Burnett? He was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked by Islamic terrorists on 9/11 and forced down in a Shanksville, Pa. field by passengers, including Burnett, who fought back.

"We're going to do something," Burnett told his wife in a phone conversation, the transcript of which Rowe posted on his page.

"His last words to his wife, Deena, are among the most inspiring I've ever heard," wrote Rowe. "Those exact words are at the top of this page, and the bottom. They were spoken seventeen years ago, under conditions I hope to never experience. I'll never forget Tom's last words. I hope you won't either."