The flag, which was stitched on the heel of the shoe, was created in the 1770s, with one white, five-pointed star representing each of the 13 original colonies set against a blue background, and 13 red and white stripes, according to the website of Philadelphia's Betsy Ross House.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kaepernick contacted Nike officials and told them that he and others are offended by the flag because it dates to the late 18th century, a period of widespread slavery in the United States.
The blowback to Nike's decision to pull Betsy Ross American flag sneakers didn't take long.
Kaepernick said the Betsy Ross flag was offensive and a symbol of racism. Although some extremist groups appear to have appropriated the flag, it is not widely viewed as a symbol of hate, and is used in museums that focus on 18th century USA history.
Nike's sudden decision to withdraw the shoes drew an even bigger response.
Nike was eligible for up to a $1 million grant, a spokeswoman at the Arizona Commerce Authority said, for a $185 million plant in Goodyear, Arizona, that would employ over 500 people. The company has a similar facility in Beaverton.
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People responded to that campaign with videos of burning Nike shoes and cutting the Nike-trademark "swoosh" off of socks.
The internet was quick to react to the news, with some calling the move to pull the shoe "unpatriotic" and pledging to #BoycottNike. "I would have bought those shoes because I love America but Kaepernick & Nike say I can't", actress Kristy Swanson wrote.
Kaepernick has been getting heat from conservatives ever since he started kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 as a peaceful protest against police brutality in the U.S.
"We don't need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation's history", Ducey said in a series of tweets about his decision. The company stopped selling some products in China after a fashion designer's support for protests in Hong Kong sparked a social media backlash. In 2016, then-candidate Trump's supporters displayed it alongside "Make America Great Again" banners at a high school football game, leading a MI school superintendent to apologize to anyone who was offended.
A protester holds a version of the Betsy Ross American flag during the Tea Party Express rally in Washington on September 12, 2009.
In February, he settled collusion grievances that alleged the league and its teams conspired to keep Kaepernick and his former teammate Eric Reid unsigned due to their political activism.
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