Julián Castro, Beto O’Rourke back Nike, saying Betsy Ross flag is ‘hurtful’

Two Democratic hopefuls have expressed their support for Nike after the sportswear company pulled sneakers featuring the Betsy Ross-designed American flag ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The company did so after former NFL quarterback and Nike endorser Colin Kaepernick raised concerns about the shoes.

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a spokesperson for Nike told The Wall Street Journal.

Beyond just being an old version, though, the Journal reported that Kaepernick expressed offense at the flag because it came from a time of slavery. Later, The New York Times reported that the flag has also repeatedly turned up in connection with white nationalism. However, Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, says the flag is not listed in the ADL’s extensive list of hate symbols.

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro told CBS News on Wednesday that he was “glad to see” Nike remove the shoes from the shelves, comparing the “painful” symbol to the Confederate flag.

“There are a lot of things in our history that are still very painful,” Castro explained. As an example, he cited “the Confederate flag that still flies in some places and is used as a symbol.”

Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke also approved of Nike’s decision, noting that “white nationalist groups” have “appropriated” the Betsy Ross flag.

“I think its really important to take into account the impression that kind of symbol would have for many of our fellow Americans,” he said, according to Jewish Insider senior political reporter Ben Jacobs.

Apparently, neither candidate remembers that the Betsy Ross flag was displayed at Obama’s inauguration.

Republican politicians have had quite the opposite reaction. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pushed for a Nike boycott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced on Tuesday that the state would withdraw its planned incentive for the company to build a plant there.

For the record, no one can prove or disprove that Betsy Ross had anything to do with the making of the first official Stars and Stripes. However, credit for the initial design goes to Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey representative to the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hopkinson was a talented man with a strong interest in designing symbols. He played a role in creating the Great Seal of the United States, the Continental Board of Admiralty seal, treasury seal, and American currency.