Nike has pulled back their “Betsy Ross” sneakers – which featured an American flag theme – from production after NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick launched a complaint against them.
The athlete-turned-political activist found the idea of putting the American flag on the shoe to be “offensive,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
“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 WSJ reported.
“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.”
Nike has demanded retailers across the nation to return the stock after the “Betsy Ross” shoes were shipped out to them this week.
The shoe has also been removed from the brand’s website. Nike initially said in a statement that they decided to pull the sneaker because it featured an “old version of the American flag.”
However, it was later revealed that the sneaker giant did so in response to a request from Kaepernick, who inked a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with Nike last year.
“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,” the WSJ reported.
“Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.”
Kaepernick became known across the globe after he protested against racism shown by law enforcement by kneeling during the US national anthem, played before the games.
After his silent protest created an uproar, a number of athletes followed suit and recorded their protests in different sports games.
The “Betsy Ross” shoe featured the American flag which flew at the nation’s founding so it had 13 stars in a circle, representing the 13 original colonies.
After seeing the images of the new shoe, Kaepernick launched a complaint with the company’s top brass, saying that the “Betsy Ross” flag embroidered on the back could be taken as a sign of approval for slavery, white supremacy, and white nationalism.
It was when Nike completely stopped the production of the sneaker, and quickly recalled the ones which had been sent around the US.
However, not all the retailers sent them back. According to the WSJ, secondary sale sites are selling the “Betsy Ross” sneakers for prices as high as $800.