Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has forced Nike to cancel a “Betsy Ross Flag” sneaker that would have commemorated America’s independence. Kaepernick forced Nike to cancel the sneaker because the Betsy Ross Flag, which is the first flag of the United States, is a symbol of racism and slavery.
From the Washington Examiner:
Sports apparel company Nike pulled a new shoe design ahead of its planned sales date because former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick complained about its featured Betsy Ross American flag design.
Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive because the flag marked an era when slavery existed in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Betsy Ross American flag is the nickname for the design of 13 stars that represents the 13 colonies arranged in a circle.
After the company shipped the shoes to retailers, Nike asked for them to be returned without explaining why.
“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 said.
This is yet another example of “woke capitalism” by a major American company. This is one of the biggest reasons why many on the right are turning against free market capitalism in its current form. Why should conservatives go to bat for big corporations when they openly hate and attack our values?
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) had this tweet:
It’s a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag…. @NFL #HappyFourth https://t.co/G6w8vDjvLP
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 2, 2019
As for has been, washed up quarterback Colin Kaepernick, why are companies taking advice from him? This is a guy who has publicly defended Fidel Castro.
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Back when there was the debate over the Confederate monuments being removed, those of us who opposed the destruction of history warned that those seeking to destroy those monuments were not going to stop there. They would start attacking symbols of the American founding. This is one of those examples of the far left attacking the American founding and its symbols.
To label the first flag of the United States a “symbol of slavery” is absurd. It is the symbol of a nation that eventually laid the foundation for a bloody war to end slavery.
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