Nike’s shares have gone up since Colin Kaepernick convinced the company to pull its Fourth of July holiday sneakers. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images)
After Colin Kaepernick had Nike remove its Fourth of July holiday shoe last week, the company’s shares have seen a sizable increase and so has its market value.
The sneakers, called The Air Max 1 USA, were designed with the “Betsy Ross Flag” on the heel, a flag that has 13 stars in a circle to represent the 13 colonies in the United States at the time.
It was also flown during s*lavery, which Kaepernick reminded Nike of. Plus, the flag has been used by white s*upremacist groups as a response to the increasing diversity in the United States, so Nike decided to pull the shoes altogether.
“Nike made the decision to halt distribution of the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July based on concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday,” said the company in a statement earlier this month.
Since the shoes were pulled, Nike’s shares have gone up 2 percent, which added almost $3 billion to the company’s market value, reports Forbes. That’s despite the backlash over the decision and calls for a boycott.
Kaepernick has become a full-time activist since he stopped playing in the NFL, and before that, as a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, he began kneeling during pregame performances of the national anthem to protest p*olice b*rutality and c*riminal justice iniquities against Black people.
The Milwaukee native eventually filed a collusion grievance after he said team owners kept him out of the league, and he received a settlement in February for under $10 million.
Kaepernick also became a spokesman for Nike in 2011 and last year was featured in an ad for its “Just Do It” campaign, which got a lot of backlash from the right.
But just as it happened with the Betsy Ross sneakers, Nike saw a 5 percent increase after they announced Kaepernick would star in the ad.