Arizona Governor Doug Doucey made a big stink earlier this week in response to news Nike had pulled an Air Max 1 sneaker detailed with the original, 13-star U.S. flag because of its association with extremist white power groups.
Prior to pulling the shoe, Nike had planned to open a factory in Ariazona and Doucey let it be known he was removing the incentives they had agreed upon.
A whole two days after putting Nike on blast, Doucey was photographed at a Fourth of July event wearing, you guessed, Nike sneakers. The image of the governor’s shoe choice initially was posted by user @coconinodems and was subsequently confirmed by ABC15 Phoenix.
Nike was planning to construct a $185 million plant in Goodyear, Arizona that would employee more than 500 people. In May. the city agreed waive $1 million dollars in fees and also pledged to reimburse Nike $1 million for job creation, according to AZ Central.
The city said the Nike factory had the potential to deliver $7.7 million in revenues for the city with $483 million over five years.
Nike hasn’t said whether it will go ahead with its plans to open the factory in Goodyear. At the same time, Doucey hasn’t commented on his choice in footwear.