Chicago Cubs minor league team mocks Colin Kaepernick on Twitter, then apologizes

A Chicago Cubs minor league affiliate has apologized and deleted a tweet mocking former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The Double-A Tennessee Smokies drew the 13-star symbol of the Betsy Ross American Flag on their infield Wednesday and tweeted images of it, ostensibly making light of the former quarterback and Nike one day after the shoe company recalled a sneaker that featured an early American flag that Kaepernick found offensive. The "Betsy Ross flag" features 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 stars to represent the original U.S. colonies. 

"Hey @Kaepernick7 after a lot of thought, we have decided it's best to just do it. #America," the tweet said. The team then deleted the tweet and offered an apology on social media. 

Nike has walked back its decision to release the red, white and blue version of its Air Max 1 sneakers ahead of the July 4 holiday. According to The Wall Street Journal, that choice was made following concerns raised by Kaepernick, who is the face of Nike's "Just Do It" 30th anniversary campaign.

Sources told the newspaper that Kaepernick reached out to Nike after photos emerged of the shoes, saying the design could be seen as offensive due to its association with an era of slavery. The flag first emerged in 1792 at a time when lawmakers advocated for the expansion of slavery and formally declared that those born into slavery were slaves for life.

Nike received fierce blowback from its decision to pull the Betsy Ross American flag sneakers. On Tuesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said he's rescinding financial incentives recently offered to Nike to build a $185 million plant and bring 500 jobs to the state.

The shoe company was also bashed by U.S. Sen. Josh Halwey, a Republican from Missouri, a state where Nike already has two manufacturing plants. The lawmaker in a tweet decried Nike as "anti-American, pure and simple."

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz also weighed in. The Republican lawmaker took to social media to express his outrage at what he called Nike's "snide disdain for the American flag." The senator went on to ask the Twitter universe at large whether anyone could "recommend a good sneaker co that's not so woke?"

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• Colin Kaepernick