Cubs Minor League Team Apologizes for Senseless Colin Kaepernick Joke They Deleted From Twitter
By Jerry Trotta
Nike was set to release a special edition of their Air Max collection in celebration of July 4 this year. However, Nike pulled the shoe from stores at the request of Nike endorser Colin Kaepernick because he thought its design -- the USA flag with 13 white stars in a circle, also known as the Betsy Ross Flag -- would remind everybody of a time that slavery was flourishing in America, despite the shoes' otherwise positive ambitions.
But, that didn't stop the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, from firing off a distasteful, ill-timed tweet regarding the sensitive matter.
However, the post was ultimately deleted in response to the countless backlash it received in its mentions and the club took to Twitter to apologize on Wednesday.
Regarding one of our recent tweets regarding @Kaepernick7 and our field design for tonight's game, it was meant to be a light-hearted take on a current situation. We did not mean to offend anyone by it. If it did, we certainly apologize.
— Tennessee Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 4, 2019
For those who didn't get a chance to catch the joke prior to its expulsion, have a look:
Posting soon on the job board at MiLB dot com:
— Jeff McReynolds (@j_mac21) July 3, 2019
Social Media Manager, Tennessee Smokies pic.twitter.com/JcC7aEzzVn
Yeah, we'll go out on a limb and say that was worth apologizing for. Did the Smokies even read up on why Colin elected to pull the shoe? Our guess is probably not because not even the most appalling of individuals would voluntarily joke about this.
At least the Smokies recognized their wrongdoings and apologized. Now, we can put this whole ordeal in the past.