Arizona political figures react to Ducey dropping incentives to lure Nike

PHOENIX — Arizona political figures shared their thoughts Tuesday after Gov. Doug Ducey announced the state would pull incentives to lure Nike to the Phoenix area after the athletics company canceled a shoe featuring an American flag design.

U.S. Sen. Martha McSally praised Ducey for his leadership.

“We must respect the flag and honor those who died defending it,” McSally said in a tweet.

Former NFL quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick objected to the Betsy Ross-era design, calling it offensive because of its connection to an era of slavery, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night.

That led to a string of 2 a.m. tweets from Ducey.

Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history. 8/

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019

Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and several Republican members of Congress and the state Legislature also expressed support for Ducey’s decision.

So true! Thank you, Governor @dougducey! 🇺🇸 https://t.co/jHH9CitrtC

— Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) July 2, 2019

#Great move @dougducey! #thankyou for standing up for #America. #awesome #AZ08 https://t.co/hObLrWl4Zn

— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) July 2, 2019

I’m glad Arizona won’t be incentivizing a company who continues to prove it is out of line with the values of the Grand Canyon State. https://t.co/0q2LoeFlNL

— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) July 2, 2019

Gov. Ducey just sent a strong message to Nike, when it comes to disrespecting our flag, just don’t “do it”. https://t.co/9glaKdmbco

— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) July 2, 2019

Thumbs up for Governor Ducey Who Pulled Tax Incentives From Nike for Disrespecting Betsy Ross flag and our history. Best Ducey quote, “We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history.” pic.twitter.com/TzTQff1ZFJ

— Representative John Kavanagh (@JohnKavanagh_AZ) July 2, 2019

Democrats, however, weren’t as supportive of Ducey.

State Sen. Martin Quezada responded with his own Twitter thread, saying Ducey’s decision serves to enable white supremacy and racism.

11/ So as leaders we have 2 choices: We can either bury our heads in the sand and profess ignorance to these coded appeals, and further legitimize them in the process as Governor Ducey has done here; or

— Sen. Martín Quezada (@SenQuezada29) July 2, 2019

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego criticized Ducey’s decision because of the impact it would have on Arizona jobs.

“Doug Ducey is taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook — playing politics rather than focusing on creating jobs for Arizonans,” Gallego said in a tweet.

State Rep. Reginald Bolding also disagreed with Ducey.

😂What a joke? Glad to see decisions can be made so quick regarding the nike announcement but when it comes real decisions like standing up for children dying at the border or inmates & correctional officers being beat to death b/c locks don’t work you need time for due diligence https://t.co/hDrmn4YMIm

— Rep Reginald Bolding (@reginaldbolding) July 2, 2019

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