Under Armour is nixing a new shirt design that played off an iconic World War II image following backlash.
In a series of tweets and a Facebook post, the activewear brand on Saturday apologized for the “Band of Ballers” shirts, which bore a strong resemblance to the classic 1945 photo “Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima:”
Under Armour has the utmost respect and admiration for the men and women on active duty and veterans who have served our country. As such, we deeply regret and apologize that a t-shirt that was not reflective of our values in honoring and supporting our country’s heroes went on sale. We have taken immediate action to remove it from retail and will take great measures to ensure this does not happen again. Supporting those who serve our country has been part of our brand’s DNA since the very beginning, and through our partnerships and by working directly with military organizations, it will always serve as the foundation of our efforts to give back.
The shirt first attracted attention on Friday.
.@UnderArmour On behalf of my US Military brothers and sisters, reducing Iwo Jima to b-ball moment is UNACCEPTABLE.
— Maximus (@MaxVenator) May 16, 2015
.@UnderArmour 6,821 Men DIED and another 19,000 were wounded on Iwo Jima. Are you just blatantly being disrespectful? pic.twitter.com/uv6pozkizY
— EersNation™ (@EersNation) May 16, 2015
The banned shirt is already being sold at a markup on eBay.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Post a Comment