Colin Kaepernick may no longer be a quarterback, but he’s calling the plays at Nike. The athletic shoe company was scheduled to release a sneaker featuring the “Betsy Ross flag” this week, but the former San Francisco 49er thought it wasn’t a good idea. The Air Max 1 USA, featuring the Founding-era American flag with 13 white stars arranged in a circle to represent the original colonies, would have gone on sale to mark the Fourth of July holiday. Not any more.

We commend Nike executives for their original patriotic instincts,...