‘We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) As patriotism-trashing shoemakers Nike sought to gin up more controversy by recalling a product that featured an American flag, Arizona’s governor responded by revoking a package economic incentives for the company.
Gov. Doug Ducey took to Twitter in a series of nine posts (see below) expressing his disappointment over the virtue-signalling corporation’s latest attack on American values.
“Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike,” Ducey said. “We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history.”
The company’s latest firestorm erupted as the city of Goodyear was set to move forward on an agreement for Nike to build a manufacturing facility there, expected to create 505 jobs, according to CNN Wire.
In return, the Phoenix suburb planned to waive about $1 million in permit and review fees, and to reimburse Nike up to $1 million in costs through an economic-development grant supplied by the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Ducey’s announcement left the overall fate of the deal uncertain as it was unclear what role state-level officials played in brokering it.
Nike said it recalled the shoes, which inexplicably incorporated a version of the original “Betsy Ross” flag of the 13 colonies stitched on their back, because controversial spokesman Colin Kaepernick took offense.
CNN reported that Nike already had shipped the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July products to stores but had asked for their return after Kaepernick—the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback now known more for his anthem-kneeling protests—said he found the flag’s association with slavery to be racist.
The announcement last year that Kaepernick had signed as a Nike pitchman initially drew strong backlash, with product boycotts and even some consumers burning their Nike gear in protest.
However, the company deftly used the negative publicity to rebrand itself among its target younger demographics and ultimately was said to reap considerable dividends from the scandal.
The extent to which Nike actively engineered the latest controversy remains unknown.
Last week, it pulled another limited-edition line from Chinese stores after their Japanese designer drew backlash by supporting a Hong Kong protest against the mainland.
Already, the black-market price of the recalled “Betsy Ross” shoes has risen to $2,500, more than 20 times their original value, reported Bloomberg.
In addition, Nike has once again succeeded in getting free marketing exposure from the flap, with other conservatives—including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas—joining Ducey to express their outrage.
Today was supposed to be a good day in Arizona, with the announcement of a major @Nike investment in Goodyear, AZ. THREAD—>
1/— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019