Nike was suspected of racism because of their sneakers. They became legendary immediately

Nike was suspected of racism because of their sneakers. They became legendary immediately

Now the limited edition collection can only be obtained on the black market and for a lot of money.

Sports brands often get into unpleasant situations related to the release of new collections. The most common claims arise on the basis of political or interethnic conflicts. The other day Nike unwittingly reminded Americans of the times of slavery and came under a barrage of criticism.

The model of new sneakers Air Max 1 Quick Strike, released for the Day of Independence of the United States, had all chances for success. However, one important detail played a significant role in the scandal.

The fact that on the heel of each shoe there is an old US flag with 13 stars, the so-called Betsy Ross flag, instead of the modern flag with 50 stars.

Betsy Ross is the seamstress who, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in 1776. Many Americans view the flag as a relic and see nothing wrong with it, but recently it has become associated with racism. Using it, last year members of the Ku Klux Klan recruited new members of the organization.

Naturally, fans of the brand did not leave this situation without attention and found in this element a reference to the times of slavery in the country.

“So Nike is using a flag that was flying when slavery was still going on… not a good move at all,” wrote under the Sneaker News post that featured the model.

Professional athletes were not in favor of the company either. According to The Wall Street Journal, even Nike ambassador American soccer player Colin Kapernick said that only racists can support the release of sneakers.

By the way, Colin is the cause of the past scandal associated with Nike. The fact that he became the face of the brand after he refused to stand up during the performance of the American anthem in protest against racial discrimination in the United States and excessively cruel, in his opinion, the treatment of African Americans by the police. Then Nike’s decision to make the footballer its ambassador drew criticism from patriotic Americans. The hashtag #BoycottNike started gaining popularity on the Web, under which users began to post photos and videos of themselves burning the brand’s sneakers.

Returning to the backlash surrounding the sneaker release, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced on his Twitter account that he was withdrawing state support for the brand (Nike had planned to open a $184 million plant in Arizona).

Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We will not cooperate with a company that denigrates the history of our country.

As a result, Nike had to halt sales of the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July.