Beto O’Rourke Is ‘Fine’ with Nike Boycott, ‘Peaceful, Nonviolent Protest’

EXCLUSIVE

Beto O’Rourke — the congressman who went viral defending NFL kneelers — says he’s totally fine with people boycotting Nike … because it’s another form of nonviolent protest. 

Beto is currently in a very tight senate race in Texas against incumbent Ted Cruz — and his speech on the NFL protesters has become a major issue between the two candidates. 

So, when we saw O’Rourke in D.C. on Friday — we had to ask about the outrage over Nike’s new ad featuring Colin Kaepernick … which inspired some people to burn their shoes and cut Swooshes out of their socks. 

“I think it’s fine for people to do that,” O’Rourke tells TMZ Sports … “I think that’s a peaceful, nonviolent way to protest a decision that you disagree with, which again comes back to the genius of this country and our democracy.”

As far as his personal feeling about the Kaepernick ad — Beto says, “Good for Nike.”