Sen. Josh Hawley says Nike's flag recall is anti-American
Nike's decision to pull Betsy Ross flag sneaker has nothing to do with patriotism and is the worst kind of hypocrisy, says Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committees.
Sen. Josh Hawley condemned Wednesday the "anti-American" decision by Nike to recall its new sneakers featuring the original Betsy Ross American flag after receiving criticism from Colin Kaepernick.
Nike announced this week that it would not move forward with the sale of their Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July shoes, citing concerns that it might "unintentionally offend" people because of its connection to the era of legal slavery. The red, white and blue shoes were supposed to feature the original American flag with 13 stars.
Hawley, R-Mo., argued during an appearance on "America's Newsroom" that we should be celebrating Betsy Ross and her flag.
"Betsy Ross was an independent businesswoman who had her own shop in Philadelphia who designed our nation's first flag and sewed the nation's first flag. She was a founding mother," Hawley said.
AIR FORCE VETERAN TOUTS NEW SHOE TO HONOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AS NIKE PULLS PATRIOTIC FLAG SNEAKER
"This is something that's the best of America, and this is controversial to Nike?" he asked.
He went on to call their decision "the worst kind of hypocrisy," and slammed the company's "shameful" decision to move production jobs to China.
Hawley also pointed out that last week Nike pulled some of its sneakers from sale in China after they experienced backlash for collaborating with a streetwear designer who supported the protests in Hong Kong.
"You look at their behavior over the decades: shipping jobs overseas, pursuing sweatshop labor so they can get their products cheap, and then telling Americans that they should like their anti-American activism," Hawley said.
"It is too much and we shouldn't put up with it," he added, blasting Nike for "anti-American activity."
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Hawley isn't the first politician to object to Nike's move; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke out against the decision, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced that he planned to withdraw incentives for a Nike manufacturing plant set to be built in his home state.
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