By Joe Ferguson | Arizona Daily Star
Sen. Martha McSally was quick to side with Gov. Doug Ducey this week when he pulled state tax incentives for a planned Nike factory in Goodyear.
Ducey balked at the tax breaks after Nike scrapped plans to release a shoe with a Revolutionary War-era flag with 13 stars. Reportedly, the company was swayed by protests from former the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who objected to using an 18th-century flag reflecting an era when slavery was widespread.
The Betsy Ross flag has also reportedly been co-opted by white nationalist groups.
McSally tweeted her support to Ducey on Tuesday.
“We must respect the flag and honor those who died defending it. Nike is wrong. Thank you Doug Ducey for your leadership,” McSally wrote.
Mark Kelly, her expected rival in the 2020 Senate race, said that Ducey went too far in canceling the incentives and jeopardizing the new jobs associated with the $185 million factory.
“As a Navy pilot and an astronaut I was always proud to wear our nation’s flag. That will never change. But to me, 500 jobs for Arizona families are more important than scoring political points,” Kelly told me on Wednesday.
