Nike Pulls American Flag Shoe for Disgraceful Colin Kaepernick

. . .According to the Wall Street Journal, Nike was forced to pull an American flag-themed shoe called the “Betsy Ross” from production after NFL quarterback-turned-political activist Colin Kaepernick, who inked a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with Nike last year, complained. . .

“The sneaker giant created the Air Max 1 USA in celebration of the July Fourth holiday, and it was slated to go on sale this week. The heel of the shoe featured a U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle, a design created during the American Revolution and commonly referred to as the Betsy Ross flag,” WSJ reports.

The shoe shipped out to retailers this week, but Nike quickly recalled the shoe and demanded retailers return their stock, leaving customers confused. The shoe isn’t available for sale on the brand’s website and a statement from Nike said only that the company decided against releasing the sneaker because it featured an “old version of the American flag.”

But, it turns out, Nike was responding to a request from Kaepernick himself, who saw the shoe online and complained directly to Nike’s top brass.

“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,” per the WSJ. “Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.” (Read more from “Nike Pulls American Flag Shoe for Disgraceful Colin Kaepernick” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE