Yesterday, tragic news broke that the NFL had banned custom “Harambe” jerseys from their store. People wept in the streets, crying and simultaneously taking their d*cks out, upset that they couldn’t represent the gorilla who (like the Wu-Tang Clan) was for the children. But today, to quote Eric, the sun is shining because the “No Fun League” has changed their stance on the ban.
According to ABC, it wasn’t even the NFL who put the custom jerseys away–it was Fanatics, the company that runs the league’s retail shop. Coincidentally, Fanatics also runs the MLB’s retail shop, and that’s where the problems actually started.
ESPN has learned that an official with a Major League Baseball team, concerned that fans were customizing their jerseys with the name of the gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo, contacted Fanatics. Fanatics runs online retail for the four major North American leagues. Fanatics spokesman Meier Raivich said that a Fanatics employee proactively added “Harambe” to a frequently updated list that instantly rejects the word when a fan tries to customize it on the nameplate on the back of a jersey.
To me, the strange thing is that no one is reporting which one team tried to put the kibosh on the jerseys, making this one of modern sports’ greatest mysteries. Which MLB team would try to support the wishes of the Cincinnati Zoo, the same zoo where Harambe lived, the same zoo that wanted people to stop Harambe memes? Which team has that kind of connection with the Cincinnati Zoo?
