Nike scrambled to remove a "Boston Massacre" T-shirt from its shelves after the Boston terror attack but the shirts have nothing to do with the incident on April 15.
The shirts have the words "Boston Massacre" emblazoned on the front with a blood spatter design on top of the moniker. The shirts took on an unfortunate meaning in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon that left three dead and more than 150 wounded.
The phrase "Boston Massacre" has long referred to a 1770 attack led by British soldiers against civilians.
Nike originally appropriated the term for the Yankees/Red Sox baseball team rivalry. It became a colloquial reference to commemorate a 4-0 series of games in 1978 in which the New York team won.
The Boston bombings coincided with a Patriots Day game at Fenway Park.
Nike says it is in the process of removing the shirt from its outlet stores, as well as from large online retailers like Fanatics Inc., according to ESPN Sports Reporter Darren Rovell.
This isn't the only instance of bad timing Nike has faced. The company came under fire earlier this year for running an ad with Olympian Oscar Pistorious. The South African runner is accused of shooting and murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Feb. 14 in his home. The Nike ad featuring Pistorious used the slogan "Bullet in the chamber" to refer to the runner who allegedly shot Steenkamp three times while she was in the bathroom at his Pretoria home.
Nike's biggest rival, Adidas, also has a shirt for Boston in the works. Adidas plans to release a shirt with the words "Boston Stands As One" as a fundraising effort for the victims of the bombings. That shirt will be sold for $26.20 — for the classic marathon distance — and all proceeds will go to the charity The One Fund Boston.
