Nike Pulls Sneakers With ‘Betsy Ross' American Flag After Colin Kaepernick Complains
By Huileng Tan | CNBC ••
Nike is pulling sneakers featuring an early American flag after former NFL football player Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn't sell a shoe that he and others consider offensive, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Kaepernick reportedly contacted Nike officials saying he and others felt the “Betsy Ross” flag — featuring 13 stars in a circle — featured on the shoes was linked to a period of slavery. The Betsy Ross flag is one type that was flown during the American Revolution. And the shoes were set to be released in celebration of the July Fourth holiday.
But the flag’s design, which was created back in the 1770s to represent the original 13 colonies, has since been associated with white supremacy.
"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,” Nike said in a statement to CNBC.
Trying to wipe these shoes from the market, Nike has asked retailers to return the shoes after they were shipped, the WSJ reported. The company did not explain why, the report added. They are currently unavailable on Nike’s mobile apps like SNKRS and its website.
AP, Files
Colin Kaepernick, left, takes a knee during the national anthem before a football game in 2016. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, right, raise their fists as a symbol of black power during the medal ceremony of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
AP
Extending gloved hands skyward in racial protest, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos stare downward during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City on Oct. 16, 1968. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman is at left.
Santi Visalli Inc./Getty Images
In this Jan. 14, 1971, file photo, boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay, gives a Black Power salute before entering Madison Square Garden to fight Argentinian boxer Oscar Bonavena in New York City.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
In this September 1972 file photo, Kenya's Julius Sang, right, and Olympic officials, left, stand at stiff attention during the playing of the American national anthem at the awards ceremony following the men's 400-meter run. At center, the American first and second placers, Vincent Matthews (hand on hip) and Wayne Collett (barefoot, holding shoes) stand at ease and chat. Collett eventually gave a black-power salute. "I couldn't stand there and sing the words because I don't believe they're true," Collett was later quoted as saying. The pair were barred from competition after the display.
Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
In this Sept. 20, 1973, file photo, Billie Jean King plays a match against Bobby Riggs, (not pictured) in the "Battle of the Sexes" in the Houston Astrodome. In 1970, King along with eight other female tennis players formed their own tennis tour in protest of inequities in prize money and bonuses at tournaments where men got more than 10 times what women earned. King said beating Riggs helped open the doors for women tennis players. Later that year, King formed the Women's Tennis Association.
AP/Michael S. Green
In this March 15, 1996, file photo, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf stands with his teammates and prays during the national anthem before the game with the Chicago Bulls. Abdul-Rauf, who said the U.S. flag was a symbol of "oppression and tyranny," was suspended earlier that week for sitting down during the national anthem. This photo was from Abdul-Rauf's first game back.
Joe Traver/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
In this April 1994 file photo, Toronto Blue Jays Carlos Delgado sits in the dugout with teammates during a game. Delgado did not stand for the U.S. national anthem in 2004 because he was against the U.S. war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Delgado went on to play for the New York Mets and shortly retired his baseball career after a few years.
AP/Kathy Willens
In this Dec. 8, 2014, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center in New York. Dozens of athletes responded to confrontations between authorities and black citizens in Ferguson, Mo., New York and elsewhere by wearing T-shirts bearing such statements as "I Can't Breathe" and "Hands Up, Don't Shoot!"
Getty Images
In this Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
AP Photo/John Bazemore
USA's Megan Rapinoe, right, kneels next to teammates Christen Press (12), Ali Krieger (11), Crystal Dunn (16) and Ashlyn Harris (22) as the US national anthem is played before an exhibition soccer match against Netherlands Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Atlanta. "I have chosen to kneel because I simply cannot stand for the kind of oppression this country is allowing against its own people," she wrote, before the U.S. women's national soccer team changed its policy to prevent the practice.
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
In this Sept. 21, 2016, file photo, the Indiana Fever kneel during the national anthem before the game against the Phoenix Mercury during round one of the 2016 WNBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
But pairs of the shoes have already made their way to some avid sneakerheads and are available on resale sites like StockX, fetching as much as $2,500, according to StockX’s website.
Kaepernick became a polarizing figure in sports after he decided not to stand for the national anthem during a 2016 NFL preseason football game, in a protest against racial injustice. His actions have been widely defended as an exercise of his freedom of speech.
Nike tapped Kaepernick for the 30th anniversary of its "Just Do It" advertising to reinforce the campaign’s message of overcoming adversity. That generated backlash from some consumers who started setting pairs of Nike sneakers on fire and got #BoycottNike trending on Twitter.
By Tuesday morning, some consumers and political figures were voicing their distaste with Nike’s decision again. Some were saying Kaepernick shouldn’t have so much power at the retailer to dictate pulling products off shelves.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Twitter: "It’s a good thing Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag."
And Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said that he will now order the state’s commerce authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars for Nike to locate in the state because of the shoes being pulled. The move was expected to bring about 500 jobs to the area.
Nike just last week pulled another line of shoes from China. The Japanese designer of the sneakers, Undercover, had shown support for Hong Kong protests on social media.
