Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is urging Nike to push ahead with shoes featuring the Betsy Ross flag.

Nike had pulled the Fourth of July shoes after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who endorses the company’s products, complained and said the flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery, The Wall Street Journal reported. The shoes featured the flag on the heel. The Ross flag has 13 white stars in a circle with red and white stripes.

McConnell said Tuesday he hoped the company would reverse its decision, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

“If we’re in a political environment where the American flag has become controversial to Americans, I think we’ve got a problem,” McConnell said. “I hope Nike either releases these shoes or some other shoe maker picks up the flag, puts it on a pair of shoes and starts selling it. I’ll make the first order.”

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