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Nike Pulls ‘Boston Massacre’ Shirts After Bombing

By Todd Rigney
Published on: 08:12 PST, Apr 22, 2013

Nike has pulled T-shirts featuring the words “Boston Massacre” after the marathon bombing last week.

The company designed the shirts for New York Yankees fans to celebrate the series sweeps of the Red Sox in 1978 and 2006 that ended Boston’s chance at the playoffs. The slogan was a play on the 1770 attack by British soldiers on Boston civilians.

Since the term “Boston Massacre” has a completely different meaning following the Boston Marathon bombing last week, Nike has decided to pull the T-shirts from circulation. Many people have understandably found the tops to be offensive in the wake of the tragedy.

In addition to featuring the words “Boston Massacre,” the lettering has blood spatter across the design.

Late Night with David Letterman producer Eric Stangel spotted the shirts in a Nike Outlet store over the weekend. When he asked an employee why they were selling the T-shirts, the staffer said they kept finding their way back to the racks despite efforts to remove them from the store.

The company said in a statement that it worked fast to remove the product from shelves. Nike added that the shirts were mainly available at its outlet stores.

“We conducted this process as quickly as possible and are confident the product has been removed from distribution,” company spokeswoman Mary Remuzzi said in an official statement.

Unfortunately for Nike, this isn’t the first time the company has been forced to do some damage control in the wake of a tragedy. Advertisements featuring Oscar Pistorius with the slogan “I am the bullet in the gun” were yanked after the Olympic runner was charged with murder.

What do you think about the “Boston Massacre” shirts Nike was selling?

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