Nike Pulls Flag Sneakers After Colin Kaepernick Raises Concern Over Its Slavery Ties, Conservatives React

Nike Pulls Flag Sneakers After Colin Kaepernick Raises Concern Over Its Slavery Ties, Conservatives React

It’s been almost three years since football star turned activist Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the singing of the national anthem at a football game. He’s now finding other ways to kneel outside of his once-beloved turf. The Nike collaborator has reportedly influenced the sports apparel giant to yank its Betsy Ross flag-infused sneakers off of the market. According to reports, Nike pulled the Independence Day shoe due to Colin’s concerns about the history of the Betsy Ross American flag.

Historically, the flag Betsy Ross designed acknowledges the thirteen original colonies of America, which has ties to slavery. In fact, white nationalist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Identity Evropa still reference this particular design of the flag to exclude and discriminate against African Americans. Nike gave this statement on the shoe to CNBC:

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured an old version of the American flag.”

Conservatives are outraged at Nike’s decision. Known conservative Ted Cruz gave a comment on the matter on Twitter. He said:

“It’s a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag….
@NFL #HappyFourth”

As a result of Nike pulling the shoe from the market, Arizona governor Doug Ducey announced that his state will pull millions of dollars in support of the company establishing a headquarters there. He said:

“Words cannot express my disappointment at this terrible decision. I am embarrassed for Nike. Nike is an iconic American brand and American company. This country, our system of government and free enterprise have allowed them to prosper and flourish. Instead of celebrating American history the week of our nation’s independence, Nike has apparently decided that Betsy Ross is unworthy, and has bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical revisionism.”

He continued:

“Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here. Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history.”

Conservative Laura Ingraham went as far as to declare that her family will boycott Nike – similar to when Nike first announced its historic partnership with Colin Kaepernick. She tweeted:

“Pathetic!…No more @nike sneakers for our family.”

Colin may not have responded to the backlash over his Nike influence, but his girlfriend is! Hot 97/MTV host Nessa Diab retweeted this tweet in support of her man’s demand for inclusion.

She also subliminally slammed the outrage from conservatives with this Instagram Story video.

Are you “still with Kaep?” Let us know what you think of his recent controversy in the comments.

Written by Miata Shanay