Cruz’s response was brief.
“Sad & predictable.”
But the senator had plenty more to say about why he believes Nike lost its way.
The Sneaker That Made Cruz Dump Nike
The dispute dates back to July 2019.
Nike was preparing to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July, a patriotic sneaker featuring the 13-star flag associated with Betsy Ross and America’s original colonies.
The shoes were reportedly already headed to retailers when Nike reversed course.
Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who had become one of Nike’s most prominent endorsers, reportedly objected to the design because the flag dated to an era when slavery existed in America. Nike subsequently canceled the release.
The backlash was immediate.
Then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered state officials to withdraw financial incentives connected to a planned Nike manufacturing facility, calling the company’s move a “shameful retreat.”
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell also challenged Nike to reconsider.
“If we’re in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we’ve got a problem,” McConnell said.
He even offered to purchase the footwear himself if Nike — or another manufacturer — put the design on the market.
“I’ll make the first order.”
For Cruz, the episode was enough.
The senator says he had spent virtually his entire life wearing Nike athletic products before deciding the company no longer deserved his money.
Seven years later, he hasn’t forgotten.
“For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear. Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they cancelled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was America-hate. I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, t-shirts. Turns out I wasn’t the only one. #GoWokeGoBroke.”
Nike’s Wall Street Nightmare
Nike’s current problems go far beyond one political controversy.
The company’s shares reached a record close of $177.51 in November 2021. By August 17, 2026, they had fallen to $39.09 — a staggering reversal for a company that once seemed practically untouchable in global sportswear.
And Wall Street isn’t convinced a quick comeback is coming.
JPMorgan recently downgraded Nike from Neutral to Underweight and cut its price target to $40.
Analyst Matthew Boss warned that decisions made as part of Nike’s “Win Now” turnaround could continue weighing on results into fiscal 2028. JPMorgan also expects changes to Nike’s Chinese e-commerce business to create an annual revenue headwind exceeding $1 billion.
That matters because China has become one of Nike’s biggest headaches.
The company is battling aggressive domestic competitors while simultaneously trying to repair its distribution strategy and revive consumer excitement around its products. Newer rivals have also been grabbing attention in categories where Nike once enjoyed overwhelming dominance.
In other words, it would be overly simplistic to claim the Betsy Ross controversy alone caused Nike to lose nearly $200 billion in value.
But Cruz’s argument is different.
His point is that the 2019 episode represented something larger: a corporate leadership team willing to risk alienating longtime customers to satisfy fashionable political and cultural causes.
Cruz Says He Saw the Warning Signs Years Ago
Nike’s Kaepernick gamble initially appeared to work.
The company continued growing after making the former quarterback a centerpiece of its advertising, and its stock ultimately climbed to its 2021 record.
That gave defenders of politically outspoken corporations plenty of ammunition against conservatives warning about consumer backlash.
But Cruz never came back.
And this week, conservative commentator Douglass Mackey posted a list of controversial decisions he believes contributed to Nike’s decline, including Kaepernick’s advertising campaign and the Betsy Ross sneaker episode.
Cruz responded by explaining exactly where Nike lost him.
“Sad & predictable. @nike lost me at #2.”
His message was unmistakable.
A corporation can spend decades building loyalty, only to discover that customers don’t necessarily separate the products they buy from the values a company publicly embraces.
Nike executives now have plenty of concrete business problems to solve — China, distribution, competition, product innovation and weakening financial expectations among them.
But conservatives like Cruz see another lesson buried inside the company’s spectacular fall.
When Nike pulled a sneaker bearing a historic American flag in 2019, executives may have believed the political storm would disappear with the next news cycle.
For Cruz, it never did.
He bought somebody else’s shoes.
Seven years later, as Nike struggles with a stock price not seen since 2014, the Texas senator is pointing back to that decision and arguing that millions of consumers may have reached the same conclusion.
“Turns out I wasn’t the only one.”
For corporate executives tempted to turn their brands into vehicles for political activism, Nike’s current predicament provides a warning that may be considerably more expensive than any advertising campaign.
Customers can leave.
And there is no guarantee they will ever come back.
