Arizona governor wears Nikes 2 days after pulling state incentives following Kaepernick-encouraged recall
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey really didn’t think about the optics of his July 4 footwear.
Just two days after saying he was pulling state financial incentives from a Nike plant in Arizona after the company recalled shoes with the Betsy Ross-designed American flag on them, the Republican governor showed up to a July 4 event with Nike sneakers on.
We've confirmed this. Three days after blasting Nike for pulling a patriotic shoe, Gov Ducey was sporting the swoosh at a 4th of July BBQ today. #ShoeGate https://t.co/2gWcJVranW
— Steve Irvin (@Steve_Irvin) July 5, 2019
Nike pulled the shoes — which never hit store shelves — after Nike endorser and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick pressured the company to do so because the flag was flown in an era of slavery and that it has recently been adopted as a symbol by some white nationalist hate groups.
‘Shameful retreat’
When news of the recall broke earlier in the week, Ducey immediately jumped on it, calling it a “shameful retreat” and saying that Nike should be proud of the country’s history. He then said he was pulling state incentives from a plant Nike has committed to building in Goodyear, Arizona.
Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here. 7/
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019
Ducey’s statements helped Nike become the partisan debate of the holiday week as many other Republican politicians chimed in with statements against Nike. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz even claimed he would no longer buy any Nikes.
Yep, I own lots of @Nike I’ve been a life-long customer, since I was kid. But they’ve now decided their shoes represent snide disdain for the American flag. Since they don’t want my business anymore, I won’t buy any more. Can anyone recommend a good sneaker co that’s not so woke? https://t.co/XQfO9Dh737
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 2, 2019
Ducey didn’t call for a boycott, something that a spokesperson for the governor strongly pointed out in a defensive statement to ABC 15 in Phoenix.
@dougducey spokesman responds to Dem criticism of his choice of footwear (Nike) on the 4th of July. Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/pbp8peFp3n
— Steve Irvin (@Steve_Irvin) July 5, 2019
“Really? Yes, the governor owns Nikes. Stop the presses. But this story was about our flag and our founding. The governor didn’t call for a boycott. He didn’t even say the company wasn’t welcome to do business in Arizona. He said we should be respecting our flag, our history and Betsy Ross.”
Goodyear city officials said this week that they have no reason to think that Nike will change its plans to have a plant in the city after Ducey’s tweets.
And there’s also not much reason to believe that Ducey was all that upset with Nike’s recall either. If he was, he certainly would have thought twice about being publicly wearing the company’s logo on his feet two days later, right?
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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