NEW YORK—Nike pulled the Air Max 1 USA shoe, which included a Revolutionary-era U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle on the heel. Kaepernick reached out to Nike after learning they planned to release the sneaker, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press.
The person requested not to be named because the conversation was intended to be private.
Nike decided to recall the shoe after it had been already sent to retailers to go on sale this week for the July 4 holiday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The decision caused an instant backlash among conservatives who accused Nike of denigrating U.S. history, with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey tweeting that he is asking the state’s Commerce Authority to withdraw financial incentives promised to Nike to build a plant in the state.
Others expressed surprise that the symbol known as the “Betsy Ross” flag, so named after the beloved Philadelphia woman credited with designing it, could be considered offensive. It is not widely viewed as a symbol of hate and is used in museums that focus on 18th century U.S. history.
The Anti-Defamation League does not include it in its database of hate symbols. Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow for the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said extremist groups have occasionally used it, but the flag is most commonly used by people for patriotic purposes.
“We view it as essentially an innocuous historical flag,” Pitcavage said. “It’s not a thing in the white supremacist movement.”
Nike said in a statement that “it pulled the shoe based on concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.” The company pushed back against criticism that the decision was being “anti-American.”
Nike is showing consistency by listening to Kaepernick, who was featured in the brand’s “Just Do It” campaign last year, said Chris Allieri, founder of New York public relations firm Mulberry & Astor.
Because the Betsy Ross flag is not widely considered a racist image, it’s difficult to judge whether Nike should have designed the shoe in the first place.
“Can a brand be expected to know everything possible that could be offensive? That’s probably tough, but that’s why you have to have inclusive teams,” Allieri said.
Several Republican politicians were quick to condemn the company.
“If we are in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we have a problem,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Ducey ordered Arizona to withdraw a grant of up to $1 million that was slated for Nike, said Susan Marie, executive vice president of the Arizona Commerce Authority, which administers the grant. But the governor has no authority over more than $2 million in tax breaks over five years that were approved Monday by the City Council in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear, where Nike committed to opening a $185 million factory that would employ more than 500 people.
The abandoned shoe sparked a discussion on social media and beyond about the Betsy Ross flag itself.
Lisa Moulder, director of the Betsy Ross House in Philadephia, said she has never heard of the flag being used as a hate symbol.
“Personally, I’ve always seen it as a representation of early America,” Moulder said. “The young nation was not perfect, and it is still not perfect.”
By Alexandra Olson
