# Reebok and the very offensive UFC t shirt.....



## Tez3 (Oct 22, 2015)

I'm not sure how offensive and divisive non Brits and non Irish know this is. If not withdrawn these t shirts could have caused fights bigger than the UFC, likely to Parliamentary level. people have been killed over less there. I know many people think Conor McGregor is British when he's not at all, as well as thinking Ireland is British.

Reebok blames 'design error' for controversial UFC Ireland T-shirt


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## Steve (Oct 22, 2015)

I don't know how aware anyone else would be of this.  I would not have known it was at all offensive.   Learn something new every day.  That said, seems like an innocent mistake, easily corrected.


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## Transk53 (Oct 22, 2015)

Dear oh dear. What a cock up. How could anybody at Reebok UK not see that coming. Unless of course that naively had no idea of the historical significance. That would seem more likely.


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## Tez3 (Oct 22, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Dear oh dear. What a cock up. How could anybody at Reebok UK not see that coming. Unless of course that naively had no idea of the historical significance. That would seem more likely.




Yep wearing that in quite a lot of  places would get you kneecapped at best, 'disappeared' at worse, not just in the Province either. Major cock up.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 22, 2015)

That is unbelievable. I bet someone has lost their job over this. I really hope someone out there isn't obliviously walking around wearing a t-shirt that basically states that Northern Ireland isn't Ireland. People have quite literally died fighting over that very same idea


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## Hyoho (Oct 22, 2015)

Reebok knows just about as much about geography or UFC as a UFC player would know what a flatlock stitch is.


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## Tez3 (Oct 22, 2015)

When bombs are still being planted and people still being shot in Northern Ireland ( and sometimes in the Republic) and questions are being asked in Parliament about double agents being murderers, as well as the anger at IRA murderers getting away with killing people it's still too volatile for stupid mistakes like this.
The nearest thing I can equate to for Americans would be something like a slogan saying what as great day 9/11 was and how happy the UFC/Reebok were at the towers blowing up, yep it's that bad because the ceasefire/Good Friday agreement is that fragile something stupid can start them off again. People have been killed for less trust me.


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## punisher73 (Oct 22, 2015)

I would say simple mistake.  I live in Michigan and most pictures on t-shirts of Michigan only show the lower peninsula (the mitt) and not the upper peninsula.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 23, 2015)

This actually reminds about the time where the North Korean woman's olympic football team walked off the pitch in protest at London 2012, because someone got the South and North Korean flags mixed up. I had a bit of a laugh about it at the time and certainly, with the north being a bit of a mad dictatorship it does add a little 'black humour' to the situation but if we apply this example to the t-shirt incident, can you imagine the trouble you could cause walking around North Korea with a printed shirt, highlighting the map of South Korea with the incorrect label on it.....

Fair enough, the issue doesn't directly impact on our daily lives but someone should have engaged the old brain and thought, I better make sure my staff get this right - countries that are divided into north and south generally have a bit of contraversial history surrounding their borders.

Ireland is a country where seemingly trivial things like what football team you support, which branch of cathlocisim you're part of, the area you live in and whether or not you wear a poppy on Rememberence Sunday can be interpreted as a sign of political allegience.

For a bit of perspective; this is what happened when the Union Jack was removed from a parlimentary building in Belfast:


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

punisher73 said:


> I would say simple mistake.  I live in Michigan and most pictures on t-shirts of Michigan only show the lower peninsula (the mitt) and not the upper peninsula.



It may have been a 'simple' mistake but the consequences of allowing that simple mistake out on to the streets I can assure you would have lead to bloodshed. I have lost friends and colleagues, indeed I lost my fiancé to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I have been deployed in Northern Ireland and spent many years since working against terrorism there and here. if you think it's finished there, IEDs are being planted there all the time, shootings happen all the time, you just don't hear about it as much.
If the above video wasn't convincing enough here's the July marches, when the Orange Lodge marches, this happens every year as does the attendant violence, wear that t shirt during this and they will tear you apart, truly, not just abuse you tear you apart.

orange days marches in Northern Ireland - Bing video


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## Buka (Oct 23, 2015)

That's pretty damn stupid on the shirt maker's part.

As for Conor McGregor - I don't know anyone who doesn't know he's Irish. I had always enjoyed watching him fight - but since I've been watching the TUFF show - I can't remember another UFC fighter so easy to dislike. What a complete asshat. Can't wait to see him get what he deserves. I'll leave it at that, lest I say something really harsh and undignified.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

Buka said:


> As for Conor McGregor - I don't know anyone who doesn't know he's Irish.



He's Republic of Ireland Irish as opposed to British Irish, there's a big difference and there were posts on here about him as a Brit, not complimentary ones either. Comments like yours ( which I'm not arguing about lol) cause the Brits to point out he's not British!

What is the Difference Between 'Ireland' and 'Northern Ireland'? - Visitor Tips -


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## Buka (Oct 23, 2015)

Sure is a crazy world, Tez. Here in Boston during the late sixties, seventies and eighties, especially South Boston, there seemed to be as many Irish gangsters here as there were in any city in Ireland. And, man, did they have some "incidents". I knew them as a young man while boxing in Southie, then later training in a dojo there. I used to sell a lot of boxing equipment to one of Whitey Bulger's nit-wit hit men. I didn't know who he was at the time but knew he was dirty. He'd come to my dojo to pick up heavy bags, and hide his face because there were dozens of cops training there. It was kind of funny watching him squirm.

Used to a lot of stuff like this. Fortunately, from a safe enough distance.

Patrick Nee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


And never once did any of us think of any of them as British.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

Buka said:


> Sure is a crazy world, Tez. Here in Boston during the late sixties, seventies and eighties, especially South Boston, there seemed to be as many Irish gangsters here as there were in any city in Ireland. And, man, did they have some "incidents". I knew them as a young man while boxing in Southie, then later training in a dojo there. I used to sell a lot of boxing equipment to one of Whitey Bulger's nit-wit hit men. I didn't know who he was at the time but knew he was dirty. He'd come to my dojo to pick up heavy bags, and hide his face because there were dozens of cops training there. It was kind of funny watching him squirm.
> 
> Used to a lot of stuff like this. Fortunately, from a safe enough distance.
> 
> ...




It wasn't only gangsters in Boston, Noraid did a huge amount of fund raising their for the Provisional IRA, they raised money for arms and bomb making equipment, they arranged the shipping too. A great many 'respectable' people fund raised including police, politicians and other 'worthies' whether they all knew where the money was going and what it was spent on I'm not sure but enough people did. It was so notorious that in certain Protestant bars dotted around the UK cheers could be heard when the marathon bombings happened in Boston, that city is really hated by some. a lot of money did dry up after 9/11 but enough is still going to the Real IRA now to enable them to plant their bombs etc. There were at least four bombs found last month, two this month already.
You wouldn't have thought they were British because your Irish gangsters would have made it very clear where they were from, it also helped with the fund raising for the terrorists. I doubt you had many Irish Protestants in that area.

Will Boston still fund the Real IRA?


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## The Great Gigsy (Oct 23, 2015)

Interesting post Tez, I was unaware that tensions still ran high between the two sides.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

The Great Gigsy said:


> Interesting post Tez, I was unaware that tensions still ran high between the two sides.



It's better than it has been in the past but still not good which is why something like a 'wrong' t shirt can still spark a riot.

For Northern Ireland, Wounds From 'The Troubles' Are Still Raw


Northern Ireland's peace is delicately poised – it needs to look forward | Colum McCann


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## drop bear (Oct 23, 2015)

That ufc fighters can't wear their on t shirts offends me.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

drop bear said:


> That ufc fighters can't wear their on t shirts offends me.




That's business for you, it works for the UFC not so much for the fighters.


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## drop bear (Oct 23, 2015)

Tez3 said:


> That's business for you, it works for the UFC not so much for the fighters.



The rebock shirts are just tragic anyway. They are just an ugly shirt designed to take more control from the fighters and give it to Dana white.


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## drop bear (Oct 23, 2015)

They may have messed ours up as well. (Can't find a photo) but traditionally we should be green and gold. And they went red white and blue.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 23, 2015)

So instead of using colours that actually represent Australian territories, they went with the colours from the Union Jack.... Starting to see a weird trend here from Reebok UK. I wonder if their new product manager has a season ticket at Ibrox (joke).


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## drop bear (Oct 23, 2015)

Dinkydoo said:


> So instead of using colours that actually represent Australian territories, they went with the colours from the Union Jack.... Starting to see a weird trend here from Reebok UK. I wonder if their new product manager has a season ticket at Ibrox (joke).



My guess is zero stuffs given in regard to what these shirts are supposed to reflect.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 23, 2015)

drop bear said:


> My guess is zero stuffs given in regard to what these shirts are supposed to reflect.


Yup! 

Two pretty offensive mistakes in a row as well, hopefully means they're at least going to pick something neutral for one of their represented countries in the near future. Probablility and all that.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

Have you seen how much these things cost? Not cheap or even reasonably priced! I suspect they were made in China for next to nothing in sweatshops and are being sold for a hugely over inflated price.  Like the sweatshop labour the fighters earn next to nothing compared to what Reebok and UFC get out of it. The UFC is a business but it could still treat it's workers better, after all without the fighters they are nothing. Still there is enough people queuing up to fight on the UFC that they won't go out of business for a while yet, there's also enough wannabees who buy their merchandise as well.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 23, 2015)

Nah I haven't, I've never really been interested in owning a UFC t-shirt - when am I going to wear it....to the gym? (Could do without the piss taking and/or extra effort in sparring or pads) or on a night out? (Inviting trouble imo). 

I agree with your point though; I did a bit of research on what fighters generally earn and unless you're one of the 'top dogs' you could be earning a pretty rubbish amount per fight - vs what the UFC make even for most prelims.


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## Tez3 (Oct 23, 2015)

Dinkydoo said:


> Nah I haven't, I've never really been interested in owning a UFC t-shirt - when am I going to wear it....to the gym? (Could do without the piss taking and/or extra effort in sparring or pads) or on a night out? (Inviting trouble imo).
> 
> I agree with your point though; I did a bit of research on what fighters generally earn and unless you're one of the 'top dogs' you could be earning a pretty rubbish amount per fight - vs what the UFC make even for most prelims.



If I were you I wouldn't wear a UFC shirt to training lol and I absolutely would not wear the withdrawn one anywhere near your gym, really really, really wouldn't. One of the instructors has very strong views on Northern Ireland, he went mad at one promoter who gave him the nickname 'mad dog' which was also the 'nickname' of a well known NI terrorist with the same surname, Etna erupting would have been less scary.


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## Dinkydoo (Oct 23, 2015)

Tez3 said:


> If I were you I wouldn't wear a UFC shirt to training lol and I absolutely would not wear the withdrawn one anywhere near your gym, really really, really wouldn't. One of the instructors has very strong views on Northern Ireland, he went mad at one promoter who gave him the nickname 'mad dog' which was also the 'nickname' of a well known NI terrorist with the same surname, Etna erupting would have been less scary.



If I wore that t-shirt to walk through town I'd never make it to the gym lol!

Tbh, there would probably be quite a few people living near where I stay that might find it amusing, but wearing a potentially offensive t-shirt relating to Ireland in a city where bigotry is usually expressed in terms of which football team you support, would be a risky manoeuvre to say the least!

Anyway, despite any previous training I might have had, I'm now a Muay Thai and MMA beginner, so I'd rather not be the laughing stock of the gym at this early stage


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## Transk53 (Oct 24, 2015)

Quite simple really. I know of at least one personally that served during the struggles. Pre peace accord. Someone wearing that t-shirt either side of the border, would not walk away. The UFC should not be even getting involved in merchandising things that have British significance for well over a century. Blood and more blood spilt, not in a ring, but on blood soacked streets. Stupid idea yes, but also very insensitive.


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## Transk53 (Oct 24, 2015)

Tez3 said:


> Yep wearing that in quite a lot of  places would get you kneecapped at best, 'disappeared' at worse, not just in the Province either. Major cock up.



I doubt that some of the good members around here would comprehend that. No offence to anybody, but this is Ireland we are talking about.


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## Tez3 (Oct 24, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> I doubt that some of the good members around here would comprehend that. No offence to anybody, but this is Ireland we are talking about.



They should learn though because if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it.


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## Buka (Oct 25, 2015)

Speaking of McGregor - can't wait to see him go against Jose Aldo.

Here's a way cool promo for the fight - with a voice over fom Christopher Walken from the movie Poolhall Junkies. Turn up the sound for this one.


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## punisher73 (Nov 1, 2015)

Tez3 said:


> It may have been a 'simple' mistake but the consequences of allowing that simple mistake out on to the streets I can assure you would have lead to bloodshed. I have lost friends and colleagues, indeed I lost my fiancé to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I have been deployed in Northern Ireland and spent many years since working against terrorism there and here. if you think it's finished there, IEDs are being planted there all the time, shootings happen all the time, you just don't hear about it as much.
> If the above video wasn't convincing enough here's the July marches, when the Orange Lodge marches, this happens every year as does the attendant violence, wear that t shirt during this and they will tear you apart, truly, not just abuse you tear you apart.
> 
> orange days marches in Northern Ireland - Bing video



I never said that it wasn't offensive or dangerous.  Nor did I say that there wasn't still huge problems and tragedies still occurring.  Just a simple statement that _most _companies are lazy and don't look into products before releasing them.  They are only looking for a fast buck and a "cool design" or name.  I remember this same issue with Reebok before I believe that you brought up about the "black and tan" shoes that they released.  Again, dumb move based on the american drink using two different beers/ales to make the split color.  Someone thought it was a catchy name and didn't do their homework at all.

Chevy is famous for doing the same thing back in the 70's with their "Nova" name.  Thought it was a cool name and then wondered why the car sales tanked when they tried to sell it in Mexico.  Well, to them, "no va" means "no go".  Again, companies are not known for doing their market research.


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