#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Did Kaepernick Stop The Release of Nike's 'Betsy Ross Flag' Sneakers?

Episode Date: July 10, 2019

Nike is pulling a U.S.A.-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after Colin Kaepernick reportedly told the company it shouldn't sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive. The red, white, and blue sneakers showed the original version of the American flag, created by Betsy Ross in 1776--nearly 100 years before the abolition of slavery. Days before the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sneaker was set to go on sale, Nike announced that its Independence Day-themed shoe was no longer available. Watch the 7.2.19 edition of #RolandMartinUnfiltered https://youtu.be/HF-h1JjzT6w Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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By going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com, you can make this possible for you. Let's talk about Nike and Colin Kaepernick. Nike is pulling a USA-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after Colin Kaepernick reportedly told the company to shut it down, that it shouldn't sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive. Now, the red, white, and blue sneakers show the original version of the American flag created by Betsy Ross in 1776, nearly 100 years before the abolition of slavery. The days before the Air Max 1 quick strike 4th of July sneaker was set to go on sale, Nike announced that its Independence Day themed shoe was no longer available conservatives

like laura ingram and ted cruz are just beside themselves in fact uh ted cruz let me pull this tweet up uh actually i thought it was pretty funny as hell uh to listen to him whine about this here uh and so let's see uh where's the tweet uh he was um he asked his people that, you know, my family, we bought Nikes, but now we're not going to do it anymore. Do whatever. And so I'm going to pull the tweet up for a second. Just what are your thoughts on Nike? Here's what it is. Here's his tweet. I love him. Pull up my iPad, please. I love America. I stand for the anthem, respect the flag and honor the men and women who fought to defend our nation. I respect free speech, and I'm exerting mine.

Until Nike ends its contempt for those values, I will no longer purchase Nike products. Hashtag walk away from Nike. Retweet if you agree. Now, if any of y'all saw Ted Cruz play basketball against Jimmy, what's my man, Jimmy, ABC, Jimmy Kimmel. Okay, that was two white men who have no business ever balancing the basketball. So, frankly, you can wear some damn New Balance as far as we care, Ted Cruz. It does not matter. Matter of fact, this is D.C. now.

You can't talk about New Balance. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. So here's the piece. What do y'all make about Colin? Okay, again, and here's the deal. And Colin Kaepernick has not confirmed that he actually did this,

and so that's always an issue for me. I sent him a text earlier today, have not heard back. So, again, that's reportedly. But what are your thoughts about Nike pulling this shoe based upon reportedly reportedly hey saying hey some folks find that flag that virgin flag be offensive what do you think well i'll tell you this first of all this is roland martin unfiltered i'm gonna say i'm gonna be honest and say that shoe was hot you know that's what that's true about it it's hot it was nice i saw that joint i was like it was nice it's like you know i used to live in philadelphia the philadelphia 76ers have used that symbol you know that that's not like something that people haven't used in the past i understand

why colin kaepernick one you know may have objected to it um personally first of all in terms of ted cruz or anything like that first all, just think of it from a business standpoint. Nike knows its audience. Ted Cruz is not a sneakerhead. You know what I mean? He's not one of those people who's buying every pair of Jordans that comes out. Nike knows who their loyal customer base is, and much of it is African American, at least in this country. And a lot of, in terms of their business, it's growing internationally outside of the United States.

So they're not, you know, taking away some shoe with the American flag on it is okay by Nike. They're like, okay, one of our stars doesn't want it, we'll take it away. And so as a business decision, it made sense for Nike to do that. I think it's okay. It made sense for Colin Kaepernick to want the sneaker taken away. For me personally, I was not super offended by the sneaker. I wasn't really tripping on it one way or the other.

You could take it away. You could keep it. As far as the design, that joint was hot. Kelly? I echo Jason's sentiments, especially with the design of the shoe. I'm not even a sneakerhead whatsoever, but that was just a nice shoe. I don't know where I would wear that shoe, but it's a nice shoe. That being said, I understand if this was a decision that was influenced by Kaepernick, I understand regarding Kaepernick's brand, why he would be sensitive to

that. Because right now, as it stands, that particular American flag is being used by white extremists and white supremacists or neo-Nazis in this country. And for Kaepernick to be associated with Nike for, you know, his efforts in, you know, the Black Lives Matter movement and, you know just uh anti-police brutality and the like i can understand why he would not want that shoe associated with nike well hold on but this is talking about that particular flag because at the time okay so what was what if it was the current flag i don't think it would have been that big of a deal i personally feel like if they were to do something like this correctly i feel like they should have done a history of the flag like do but here's my whole deal though okay they put that flag on

all right all right shouldn't i can't have explained why they chose that flag malik you want to get get in go again yeah absolutely so third time is a charm that she was hot everybody can agree with that that the shoe was hot and i'm really i was getting ready to pick up on your last point would it have mattered if it was the original flag and the re i don't think that it would and it's kind of unfortunate that we're kind of talking about this without any information from colin so we're kind of well actually colin or nike colin or nike yeah so it's kind of unfortunate that this is the conversation that we had but they made the decision look

I'll be honest with y'all I would not put it above Nike to being straight up putting it out there and pulling it back to get attention I'm just being straight up here's the deal

Wall Street Journal reported this I'm speaking from a reporter when so when i see a story so i see this story okay nike's not quoted capra dick's not quoted at all nike has issued no statement nothing on twitter as to why the shoe got pulled nothing like nothing but it's selling for two g's so now so now all of a sudden you have a story that's gone all over the place and there's no comment yeah and what i will say is that um you know let's we're just going to say okay well let's say everything that we've heard. The rumors are true that Colin did actually reach out to Nike based on Colin's actually actual history of being against the American flag. As we know it today, I can't see how he could be any more. No, no, no.

This flag versus I don't think we would be fashionably correct. Colin is not against the American flag. Right. Let's correct that. There's no I understand what Colin did was the symbol. No, no, no, no, no, no. We're going to be correct. Colin Kaepernick is not against the American flag. Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest police brutality. Colin Kaepernick has talked about the flag and what it has been a

symbol of, which is factually correct. Right. But Colin Kaepernick is not against the flag. But it's hard for people, and you have to, you know, we have to admit, it's kind of hard for people to really see that distinction because what he said was that he refuses to stand for a flag that, you know, with the history. So say no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not the same as I hate the flag. I was going to going to bring up Mahmoud Abdul Raouf, who also didn't, you know, show deference to the flag and didn't want to stand for it. He didn't hate it. It was just that he represented, he had a belief where it was like,

okay, I'm not going to show reverence to the flag over my religion or over whatever. So I don't think it's necessarily to make this kind of simplistic idea, whereas if you don't stand for the flag, that you despise the flag. It's just, you know, you may have a different belief. Well, he doesn't like what the flag represents. And so I don't believe. But it wasn't just the flag. It was the flag it's just you know you may not like what the flag represents and so i don't believe the flag the flag and the anthem right but either way whether though my point here is that i do not believe that if it were the if they if nike chose the current flag as we know it today that colin kaepernick will be would have been any more amenable to that version of the flag. Right, but you don't know. First, we don't know.

Again, I... Nike didn't ask him to wear the shoe. Again, I go back to my original. I'm with you on that. I'm telling y'all right now. Don't say all right. There is no explanation whatsoever. There's no explanation as to why the shoe... Okay, we're going to come out with the shoe.

Okay, then you drop it. Then it's like, oh, Nike called some people and said, don't put the shoe okay we're gonna come out with the shoe okay then you drop it then it's like oh nike calls some people and said don't put the show don't put the shoe out okay so you have you literally have you have nothing no video i'm telling i'm telling y'all do not do not ignore Nike, which has always been counterculture, this thing drops the week of the 4th of July. Okay? Don't think for a second that this is also not a Nike. Because here's another piece I want to know.

How many shoes got made? Exactly. Well, they sell them for $2,000. But my point is, I need y'all. I got you how many shoes got made i'm with you see if you tell me nike ship a hundred thousand pair all right mm-hmm y'all y'all y'all think i can ship the hundred thousand pair i wouldn't be surprised if nike shipped a thousand pair see i'm just trying to tell y'all i didn't think about

we are dealing with the one company the one american company that understands counterculture that understands uh being very much uh counter what everybody want. This is 4th of July week. This thing drops. Gets picked up. Here's the other deal. How many designs of, how many different images of the shoe have y'all seen? Just that one.

Just that one. Just that one. Have y'all seen? So you mean to tell me there's no shots of the side of the shoe or the front of the shoe there's the front i saw the front there's a front yeah i can't remember really let's try to pull it up yeah all right but sort of yeah yeah i mean it was drippy like i'm telling y'all but they don't y''t. Y'all think I'm joking. Nike's Nike.

If I read correctly, I think what they were saying that Nike said is that releasing it this week, as we were supposed to be, you know, this is the week of the four. It was something about we're releasing it this week. Well, to your point, they can release it next week. Yeah, there's a side shoe image. Oh, that looks even better. I know. It's on fire. That looks even better. Look. Oh, that looks even better. I know, it's on fire. Oh my god.

That looks even better. Look at that. That looks even better. That joint is dripping. Oh my god. All right, so is this it here? Is there another one? Which one?

Hold on, which one? See that one? That's an ugly-ass shoe. It's not? What? What? No, Roland. I'm letting y'all know.

Blasphemy. Oh, nah, bro. It's an ugly-ass shoe. I don't even No, Roland. I'm letting y'all know. Blasphemy. It's an ugly-ass shoe. I don't even have an outfit associated with it. Hold on. Hold on. But wait a minute. But wait a minute. Hold on.

Let me see. Now, that one is... Because, see, what I'm also looking at is... Okay, so this is the shoe right here. All right, so y'all pull it up. I don't see how you don't like it. That's the one that's nice. All right, so here's the deal.

Okay, fine. Y'all check this out. But hell, here's the one for Puerto Rico that I just saw. Yeah, there's an international one. Here's the one for Puerto Rico. So let me pull this one up. That's the Puerto Rico shoe. That joint is fly, too.

Listen, there's not much difference. That joint is fly. And I guess they have on the back of that one the Puerto Rican flag. Hold on, let me see if I can... Oh, it rotates. That joint is fly. How do you not like this? Oh, that joint is nice. Hold on.

You know why I don't like this here? Why? Right 140? Y'all goddamn minds! That's how much they cost! That's how stupid y'all are! I didn't say I was going to say that! Paying $140 for some damn

tennis shoes! That's why Nike... It's an investment! Bullshit! It's not an investment! No, it's not! That's not an investment! You want to know what's a damn investment? That's a sneaker game. Are you about to pull up marijuana stock? Hell no! That's not an investment. You want to know what's a damn investment? That's a sneaker game. That's a sneaker game.

Are you about to pull up marijuana stock? Hell no. Yeah, I thought he was going to do that, too. I thought he was going to do that, too. No. Segway. Here we go. Okay. Yeah.

This is an investment. Right here. Pull it up. Why? Nice. The stock closes at $84.96. Y'all running around. Nike got y'all like some crackheads, okay?

Oh, my God. Oh, the shoe. The shoe. Dropping $140 and $200 for a damn pair of tennis shoes. Buy your ass some Nike stock. I'll do both. I grew up in the era of Jordans where, you know, so. I don't give a damn about Jordans.

The J's. Yo, let me tell y'all something. I don't give a damn about Jordans. The J's. Yo, let me tell y'all something. I don't even wear those. Let me tell y'all something. Black-ass Adidas right here. $40 damn dollars. No, no. Y'all can go to hell with paying $100.

You know what? $40. You know what that means? I got an extra $100 damn dollars. And y'all run around buying. I'm telling you right now. And he matching. Black and damn right. He's matching at this. I'm an extra hundred damn dollars. And y'all run around buying, I'm telling you right now. And he matching. Black people, damn right.

I'm an alpha. I still yell myself matching. Black people, stop calling for the okie doke, buying them expensive ass shoes. That's all I'm saying. Okay. That's right. Two shares equal one pair of shoes. And when them old ass shoes shoes when you can't wear

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Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

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