Laura Ingraham Vows to Boycott ‘Pathetic’ Nike After Flag Shoe Dropped Over Colin Kaepernick’s Objections

On Monday, the company nixed plans to sell the $140 sneaker

laura ingraham colin kaepernick nike betsy ross
Getty Images; Nike

Fox News’ Laura Ingraham took to Twitter on Monday to denounce Nike’s decision to yank plans to sell a $140 Betsy Ross flag-themed sneaker ahead of Independence Day, vowing her family would wear “no more” of the brand’s shoes.

Earlier on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Nike was pulling the Air Max 1 USA after former NFL star Colin Kaepernick objected to the design’s use of an early version of the flag, which he said was associated with slavery. The shoes would have otherwise been released Monday.

Ingraham tweeted about the story, calling the decision “pathetic.”

In a second tweet, she elaborated: “No more @nike sneakers for our family.” She offered no further comment and she’s not hosting “The Ingraham Angle” this week; colleague Jesse Watters filled in on Monnday night. 

Nike has already faced waves of criticism for its involvement with Kaepernick, a former quarterback who became an advocate for racial justice by kneeling during the pregame national anthem. Shares of NKE stock initially dropped the day after Nike first announced Kaepernick as the face of a new campaign in September 2018, as #NikeBoycott was trending on Twitter. In the days after, the stock recovered, closing the next day at $83 per share, an all-time high for the company.

Ingraham herself has also been on the receiving end of a boycott over past comments about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. Hogg had called for an advertising boycott against the host’s Fox News show, and more than two dozen followed suit.

That boycott, too, stemmed from Ingraham’s Twitter use. “David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates.),” she tweeted when the gun control advocate and school shooting survivor spoke about his college application experience.

Reps for Nike did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

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