Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has made his first public comment since Nike stopped selling sneakers featuring a version of the Betsy Ross American flag after he complained to the company.
Kaepernick, who has been featured in Nike ads, broke his silence by quoting Civil War-era abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass.
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“What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine…There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour,” Kaepernick tweeted on the Fourth of July.
“What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine…There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.”
– Frederick Douglass pic.twitter.com/IWLujGCJHn— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) July 4, 2019
Douglass, who over 180 years ago escaped slavery and became a best-selling author, said the lines in an 1852 talk titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” In the speech, Douglass blasted slavery as a practice of savages and a disgrace to America, exhorting the nation to reconsider its purpose as found in the Constitution, which he termed a “glorious liberty document,” and the Declaration of Independence.
Kaepernick’s use of the quotation comes days after he ignited controversy by telling Nike to pull its Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sneakers. Nike said he told the company he believes the colonial flag used on the shoes is offensive, because it was flown when slavery was legal.
The company’s decision brought blowback from politicians and commentators of all political stripes. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey pulled financial incentives for Nike’s planned factory in the state in response.
“It is a shameful retreat for the company. American businesses should be proud of our country’s history, not abandoning it,” Ducey tweeted Tuesday. “Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here.”
Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here. 7/
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019
