Kent State University, the site of a shooting in 1970 that killed four students, criticized Urban Outfitters Inc. for selling a sweatshirt with its college logo and what appears to be splattered blood.
"We take great offence to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit," the Ohio university said in a statement online. "This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State community today."
Urban Outfitters, a retail chain with a history of stocking controversial items, sold the one-of-a kind item for $129 on its website as part of an assortment of vintage clothing. The company said on Twitter today that there was no blood on the shirt, and the stains and holes were a result of discoloration and “natural wear and fray.”
“Urban Outfitters sincerely apologizes for any offense our Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt may have caused,” the Philadelphia-based company said. “It was never our intention to allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such.” Urban Outfitters said it removed the item from its website “to avoid further upset.”
An EBay seller, meanwhile, claims he was able to purchase the sweatshirt and is now trying to resell it on the auction site for $2,500. The seller, who said he was waiting to receive the item from Urban Outfitters, pledged to give 50 percent of the profit to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Urban Outfitters has drawn flak before for its clothing. In 2011, the Navajo nation sent the company a letter demanding that it pull the tribe’s name from a line of purses, T-shirts and underwear. The Spanish clothing chain Zara also sparked outrage last month with a kids’ sheriff shirt that looked like a Holocaust concentration camp uniform.
Oona McCullough, a spokeswoman for Urban Outfitters, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Kent State students were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen during Vietnam War protests, inspiring national outrage and helping galvanize the anti-war movement.
“May 4, 1970, was a watershed moment for the country and especially the Kent State family,” the university said in today’s statement. “We lost four students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others were changed forever.”