A minor league baseball team in Tennessee sent an American flag-themed tweet to Colin Kaepernick on Wednesday. The team later waved a white flag of surrender.
The Tennessee Smokies, the Cubs' affiliate in the Double-A Southern League, were responding to Kaepernick's disapproval of a July 4-themed Nike shoe that included a depiction of an early U.S. flag. The Smokies' social team tweeted images of a so-called Betsy Ross flag that the team's grounds crew drew in the dirt around second base. The team included Kaepernick's Twitter handle and made reference to Nike's slogan, "Just Do It."
After the Twitterverse had its say, the Smokies deleted the tweet after and issued an apology to people who may have been offended. They did not apologize to Kaepernick.
Regarding one of our recent tweets regarding @Kaepernick7 and our field design for tonight's game, it was meant to be a light-hearted take on a current situation. We did not mean to offend anyone by it. If it did, we certainly apologize.
— Tennessee Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 4, 2019
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Twitter commenters made sure everyone could still see the deleted tweet.
Not to worry, I have a screenshot of you endorsing systematic racism and violating the flag code. pic.twitter.com/hXJmYEuaVL
— (((Catherine))) (@pantone165) July 4, 2019
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Nike halted the release of its Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July shoe after Kaepnerick, a Nike endorser and a former NFL quarterback, objected to the company stitching Betsy Ross flags into the backs of the shoe. According to the Journal, Kaepnerick associates the flag, which Ross supposedly helped to design in the 1770s, with slavery.
The stars in the flag represent the 13 original U.S. colonies, who declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, and fought the British army in the Revolutionary War to ensure that independence. The stars are arranged in a circle in the upper left corner.
Kaepernick, 31, has not played in the NFL since the end of the 2016 season. He sparked a national firestorm that year with his protests of police brutality and racial injustice during the playing of the national anthem before games.