Nike Pulls Its Upcoming ‘Betsy Ross’ flag Sneakers – Because Colin Kaepernick Said They Were Offensive

By Jon Dougherty for The National Sentinel

(NationalSentinel) Before they even hit store shelves, Nike pulled its new “Betsy Ross” flag-emblazoned sneakers because the company’s face, washed-up NFL quarterback and “kneeler” Colin Kaepernick complained about them.

The Air Max 1 USA shoes were scheduled to go on sale this week to mark the nation’s 243rd birthday on July 4. However, the company suddenly asked retailers to return them…because Kaepernick decided that they were just too offensive.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the heel of the shoe featured a design of the flag that Betsy Ross, from her home in Philadelphia, made at the outset of our country’s declaration of independence from Great Britain featuring a ring of 13 stars on a field of blue with 13 red and white stripes to represent the original colonies.

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

The paper noted:

After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery, the people said. Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns.

Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.

Of course, he did.

This would be the same Kaepernick who claims that American police make a habit out of targeting black men for no reason other than to harass and kill them, as evidenced by a really offensive pair of socks he wore to practice one day when he was still with the San Francisco 49ers.

Whatever Kaepernick says or does at this point, one thing is certain: He isn’t going to do it on a football field anymore.

Image Credit: Daniel Hartwig