Kudos to 12-year-old Nathan Sorrell. You may have seen him during the Olympics. He wasn’t in the Olympics; he was advertised during the Olympic games.

Nathan is a 5’3”, 200-pound 12-year-old who appeared in an ad for Nike where he is seen jogging down a lonely country road. While he runs, a voice over tells viewers to “find their inspiration.” Seeing Nathan jogging is indeed inspiring, and the image is what many Americans need.

The problem for Nathan is that he has received a lot of national attention and not all of it has been complimentary. While some viewers applaud him for putting himself out there, others have criticized Nike for exploitation, and Nathan has received personal criticism and humiliation. The question is, was it right for Nike to put him on the air or was it a simple matter of using him to get attention for their shoes?

When his mother was interviewed on The Today Show, she seemed surprised by the negative attention, saying that she didn’t realize that it would come. Really? You put your overweight son in an advertisement during the Olympics showcasing highly sculpted young bodies and don’t expect viewers to criticize him? When Nathan…