In another humiliating moment for Colin Kaepernick, it seems he had no problem with the Betsy Ross flag for years when it hung outside city hall in San Francisco.
Colin, you may remember, played football in San Francisco and you can be sure he passed by city hall at least once during his time there. How embarrassing for Colin and Nike.
From The Daily Caller: A Betsy Ross flag was spotted flying as part of an 18-flag display outside San Francisco City Hall Thursday.
Controversy over the Betsy Ross flag erupted Monday after Nike pulled a shoe featuring the American flag following a complaint from former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who alleged the flag was a symbol of racism.
It doesn’t appear, however, Kaepernick has commented on the Betsy Ross flag that has been a part of the “Pavilion of American Flags” in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza since 1964.
The Betsy Ross flag flew outside San Francisco City Hall for the entirety of Kaepernick’s tenure with the San Fransisco 49ers from 2011 through 2016.
The 18-flag display was the brainchild of businessman Stanley Bergman, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The flags were first raised with fanfare on Flag Day, June 14, 1964,
But it gets worse for Colin because Obama did it too. From The Daily Wire:
On Wednesday, social media pointed out something to Nike that they either ignored or were unwilling to acknowledge: the famed flag, which featured 13 white stars in a circle to represent the thirteen original American colonies, was flown at former President Barack Obama’s 2nd inaugural.
That precipitated a host of comments from conservatives:
Donald Trump Jr.: “Weird that no one had a problem with The Betsy Ross Flag when it flew over Obama’s inauguration. Now it’s not patriotic… ok got it.”
Steve Deace from Blaze TV: “Truly amaze-balls to learn America’s first black President not only had a racist VP for eight years, but now he proudly flew the flag of white supremacists.”
From The Wall Street Journal: Nike is yanking a U.S.A.-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive, according to people familiar with the matter.
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 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.
After shipping the shoes to retailers, Nike asked for them to be returned without explaining why, the people said. The shoes aren’t available on Nike’s own apps and websites.
“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a Nike spokeswoman said.
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.
Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.
The design was created in the 1770s to represent the 13 original colonies, though there were many early versions of the America flag, according to the Smithsonian.
In the 1790s, stars and bars were added to reflect the addition of Vermont and Kentucky as states. U.S. flag designs continued to change as states were admitted to the union until the 50th star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.
That Betsy Ross flag sure fell out of fashion quickly. (Photo: 2nd Obama inaugural, 2013) pic.twitter.com/8xg8xCPLXb
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) July 3, 2019
Truly amaze-balls to learn America’s first black President not only had a racist VP for eight years, but now he proudly flew the flag of white supremacists. https://t.co/cawUuWdUlf
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) July 3, 2019
