Nike Sneaker Featuring Betsy Ross Flag Canceled After Complaints Regarding Flag's Ties To Slavery Era
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) -- Nike is canceling a sneaker that featured the "Betsy Ross" version of the American flag from the late 18th century after the company received a complaint from a former NFL star.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the athletic-wear company delivered the sneakers to retailers, but asked stores to return them to Nike after the company received a complaint from former NFL star Colin Kaepernick. The Journal indicated Kaepernick said he and others found the shoe offensive because of its ties to America's era of slavery.
"Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured an old version of the American flag," Nike said in a statement to CNN Business.
Kaepernick could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
"A Nation's flag generally symbolizes the nature and character of its people. America is a young nation still in the process of defining itself," NCAAP President Minister Rodney Muhammad said in a statement. "I said the said Betsy Ross Flag with 13 stars represents a time when 13 colonies were complicit in legalizing the dehumanizing of Black people. We applaud Nike for recalling what would have been the commercializing of a great injustice to a people, packaged in a product to an Unsuspecting generation."
"To represent the time period we're going through I don't think it relates to slavery. I think they're separate entities I think Nike should keep the shoe," Blake Verpoten said.
The Besty Ross Museum tells CBS3 the original flag use was for military purposes, identifying American soldiers on the battlefield during the Revolutionary War.
"Back in Betsy Ross's time, it was utilitarian. It was a military tool, it wasn't commercialized until much later," said director of the Besty Ross house Lisa Ackerman Moulder.
The shoe was set to be released Monday for $140, according to Sneakernews.com. The website included photos of a shoe that featured a version of the American flag with 13 stars organized in a circle and 13 stripes. That version of the flag, according to the Smithsonian, was used in the United States from 1777 to 1795.
It's unclear how many pairs of the sneaker were already sold, but one pair of Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sold for $2,495 on Stockx.com.
"You're not personally offended," CBS3's Dan Koob asked.
"No I want to go to the house and see it and learn information about it but I don't think it has a racial undertones," Olivia Jones said.
This is the second instance of Nike removing a product in recent days. The company stopped selling some products in China after a fashion designer's support for protests in Hong Kong sparked a social media backlash.
Nike said in a statement at the time that it had decided to remove some of its goods "based on feedback from Chinese consumers."
In May, according to footwearnews.com, Nike canceled an Air Force 1 sneaker after an indigenous group in Panama objected to its design.
CBS3's Dan Koob contributed to this report.
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