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This is the best of outkick the coverage with clay Travis on Fox Sports Radio.

Our old friend Colin Kaepernick is back in the news and he's in the news in an utterly ridiculous fashion.

If you didn't know about this already Colin Kaepernick was upset with Nike. What was Nike doing let me give you a little bit of a background.

So if you're not an expert in American history or even that familiar with your great school days. There was a woman named Betsy Ross who during the American revolution sowed the first version of the United States flag and that United States flag that Betsy Ross had had 13 stars to represent the 13 original colonies.

If you're not familiar with the concept of a colony great Britain was our ruler and we were colonies initially of the British Empire.

So the 13 states that ran down the coast of the Atlantic seaboard were 13 colonies and for a long time that was the way that this that our country was managed as a colonial part of great Britain of England.

And so in the 1770s we went to war to gain our independence and that war started around 1775 is officially took off in 1776 when we declared our independence and we won our independence officially in 1783.

So in 1783 the United States became an official country in 1776 we declared our independence and we fought this seven year revolutionary war.

And the way we fought during the seven year revolutionary war was under what would eventually become the American flag that was designed by Betsy Ross and had 13 stars to represent the 13 original American colonies.

Alright there's a little bit of a history lesson for everybody out there. Now along the way we have evolved the flag the current flag today has 50 stars for all 50 states and interestingly enough it has 13 stripes if you look at a flag and you count them 13 stripes to represent the 13 original American colonies.

Okay so that's the background as part of the July 4th celebration and by the way I hope all of you have a fantastic July 4th to get ready to celebrate American independence the company of Nike decided they were going to make a tennis shoe which honored American independence by replicating that Betsy Ross flag on a Nike tennis shoe they designed the shoes they sent them off to be made and they went off to be created.

By Nike factories overseas the shoes were made they were brought back into the United States and the Nike began to ship them out to retailers to put them on sale then what happens.

Colin Kaepernick becomes aware that these shoes exist and he decides that they are offensive and that they are racist and complains to Nike because of the flags connection to a time when slavery was born.

Yes slavery was legal for the first 80 years of the United States existing has not been legal so far as I'm aware for the next 156 years since Abraham Lincoln ended slavery on January 1st 1863 with the emancipation proclamation.

But Colin Kaepernick decided the shoes were offensive and Nike pulled them and I don't know what they're going to do with them now will they destroy these shoes or will the shoes somehow hit the black market such that Betsy Ross original American revolutionary hero now becomes revolutionary once more in 2019 over these shoes.

The point in a larger context is that this is evidence of sports continuing to partake and what I think is the worst thing that's going on in modern American culture which is our modern day cancel culture.

If Colin Kaepernick doesn't like the shoes that Nike created you know what he could do he could not buy them if you don't like them you could choose not to buy them.

Taking the next step and saying I don't like this and it shouldn't exist for anyone else is censorship it is a part of our modern American culture in this day and age it is crazy to me that if you don't like something you don't just choose not to consume it yourself and this is what I would say across the board.

If you don't guys radio show choose not to listen to it if you don't like someone's television show choose not to watch it if you don't like someone's book don't read it but and this is key don't try and stop other people who do like it from being do that.

I don't believe in that decision I think it runs contrary to everything that exists in our American judicial system I just don't think it makes sense and ironically enough I think it's a fundamentally anti liberal bent in other words our country moves I think often in circles not in straight lines and historically conservatives have been the people who would have opposed aggressive first amendment protections now we have ended up.

I think that's the way I think it is in this world where liberals are the ones who are advocating against aggressive first amendment protections I'm a middle of the road guy but I get really upset when I see somebody saying oh that show shouldn't exist oh that book shouldn't exist oh that shoe shouldn't exist if you don't like something don't buy it you certainly can enter the marketplace of ideas and argue against it but you shouldn't have the ability to cancel something and disallow other people who might like it.

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