Air Force veteran releases new shoe to honor law enforcement amid Nike’s decision to pull the patriotic flag sneaker

Air Force veteran and Iowa police officer, Ron Slagle told “Fox & Friends” yesterday that those that had been hoping to buy the Nike shoe, which featured the Betsy Ross American flag, can now take a look at his own sneaker substitute named “Honor and Appreciate.”

Proceeds from Slagle’s shoes, which come in black, white and blue, will benefit Blue H.E.L.P. and Code 9, two organizations seeking to improve the lives of police officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Image credit: Fox News

He referred to Colin Kaepernick’s persevered protest of the American flag and his disapproval of the Nike sneaker as a “shame to the true career.”

“The Betsy Ross objection with the shoe for Nike interprets right into a lack of historical past,” Slagle told Fox & Friends. “And I imagine every now and then that is the greatest loss we have is truly understanding what the historical past about this is.”

Nike pulled its fourth of July sneaker over concerns that it could “unintentionally offend.”

Back in 2017, Kaepernick made headlines when he famously kneeled during the nationwide anthem whilst he played for the San Francisco 49ers. He stated that he kneeled with the intention to protest racial injustices and the killings of unarmed African-American citizens by police officers.

Ever since, he has developed a collaboration with Nike, and repeatedly objected to the company’s determination to unencumber the Air Max 1 Fast Strike Fourth of July shoe.

It was supposed to feature the 13-star American flag, but Kaepernick objected due to the flag’s connection to the slavery era.

But Slagle sees things differently:

“The flag means freedom,” he stated. “The flag is a symbol of what we fought for and a lot of Americans are still fighting for today.”

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