News » , race and culture. Professor Cooper, welcome to you.

NPR's Michel Martin Nike Air Max Thea Femme speaks about the controversy with journalist Nike Air Vapormax Mujer Alyssa Rosenberg, professor Joseph Cooper and fashion blogger Eugene Rabkin.There's Nike Roshe Run Womens another sports-related story we wanted to talk about - or at least it speaks to the fact that sports figures and companies are about more than - well, sports. We wanted to talk about that special-edition sneaker that Nike had planned to release in honor of Independence Day featuring the so-called Betsy Ross flag with 13 stars in a circle representing the 13 Adidas Superstar Dames original colonies. According to several news outlets, beginning with The Wall Street Journal, Nike Air Max 90 Femme Nike pulled the shoes after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick privately advised Nike executives Adidas Superstar Dam to do so.MARTIN: And Eugene Rabkin is the founder of StyleZeitgeist, which is a fashion blog. Eugene, welcome to you as well.

Kaepernick, of course, is the activist www.ranchmistral.fr famous for kneeling during the national anthem during his playing days to protest police violence, which evidently ended his Nike Air Presto Mujer playing days. Adidas ZX Flux Mujer He's also a Nike brand ambassador. Now, it's not exactly clear what he said to Nike, but it's been reported that he noted that the flag has been adopted by some white supremacist groups, along with a Confederate flag, to celebrate a time when slavery was legal and the country was supposedly more white or white people had all the power. Nike said in a statement that it pulled the shoes based on concerns it could, quote, "unintentionally Nike Air Max Thea Mujer offend and detract from the nation's patriotic holiday" - unquote.

But then other people criticized that decision, including the Arizona governor, Nike Air Max 90 Femme Nike Air Max TN Mujer Doug Ducey, who said that Nike has, quote, "bowed to the current onslaught of political correctness and historical Nike Air Max 270 Femme revisionism" - unquote. He claimed that he would pull back support for financial incentives that were promised to Nike for opening a manufacturing plant in Arizona.So we figured the Barbershop would be a good place to talk about all this because that's where we talk with interesting people about what's in the news and what's on their Nike Air Pegasus 83 Mujer minds. So joining us today are Alyssa Rosenberg. She's an opinion writer who covers culture for The Washington Post. She wrote about this recently. Welcome.ALYSSA ROSENBERG: Thanks so much for having me.MARTIN: Joseph Cooper is a professor Nike Roshe Run Mujer at the University of Connecticut, where his research focuses on sport, education, race and culture. Professor Cooper, welcome to you.