Nike‘s “slave” sneakers are reaching mind-boggling quotations on the internet, while the political world has different reactions. The Nike Fourth of July model – renamed Betsy Ross by the name of the seamstress who, according to the legend, sewed the first flag of the United States – was withdrawn from the market because it carried on the back the vintage slave flag. The immediate u-turn of Nike sparked sneakerheads collectors.
The price skyrocketed
On the same day that Nike announced the withdrawal, a pair of Fourth of July was sold for 2,500 dollars on the StockX portal (which pointed out that the product is not “aligned with our value system”). A true bargaining considering the fact that the next day the price has skyrocketed. At noon on Friday, 99 people had made an offer on a single post on eBay, with the higher offer at $15,000. “I have never seen so many views, and at moment it must be the hottest item on eBay – commented to Newsweek Isaiah Miller, one of the sellers-. Call it patriotism, the need to have something you have been told that you can no longer have, or just the desire for collecting, but people are offering incredible sums”. The original Nike price would have been around $140. On eBay, writes Newsweek, a couple had received 37 offers and up to $5,100. Another sales post, which at the time had not yet received an offer, had a starting price of $2,500.
Political controversy
The governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, was not in favour of Nike’s decision to withdraw the product: for this reason he not only tweeted that the move is disrespectful of Betsy Ross‘s contribution to the country, but it is also withdrawing the tax incentives of the State (about 1 million dollars) for the construction of a new Nike production centre in the city of Goodyear. The mayor of the same city disagrees and promises to fight this. The governor of Arizona has a supporter of excellence, the son of the president of the United States, Donald Trump Jr., who again from Twitter suggested for Nike to produce red sneakers engraved with the logo of a hammer and sickle.
Images from the web and from Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter account
