Yesterday, John Kavanaugh, the coach of Conor McGregor, announced on Twitter that Reebok (who the UFC signed an exclusive apparel deal with this year) was now sponsoring his Straight Blast Gym, which is a huge deal for him:
Proud to announce a partnership between @Reebok and @SBG_Ireland #CombatTraining #CentreofExcellence
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) October 19, 2015
Tuesday night boxing in the Reeboktogon @Reebok @SBG_Ireland pic.twitter.com/gAqivlYx2l
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) October 20, 2015
Between the deal, UFC and Reebok heavily emphasizing nationalism in pushing the “Fight Kit” uniforms, McGregor’s popularity, and Ireland consequently being the UFC’s biggest hotbed right now, it made sense to release Ireland-themed shirts. However, Reebok erred badly with a new design, which has since been deleted:
I don't like to swear on social media but what the FUCK are Reebok doing. "Show your UFC territorial allegiance" pic.twitter.com/mfiEk1bGrH
— Andrew McGahon (@andrewmcgahon_) October 21, 2015
there are two problems:
1. Instead of showing the entirety of Ireland (the island), Reebok only included The Republic of Ireland on the shirt, leaving out Northern Ireland. This is a contentious political issue to put it lightly.
2. Reebok had added a caption that asked fans to show their “territorial allegiance,” which almost made the move come off as intentional.
Kavanaugh quickly took to Twitter, threatening to pull out of the SBG/Reebok deal:
An incredibly insensitive stupid divisive idea. Its removed by the end of the day or SBG is gone. I expect a sincere apology to Irish fans.
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) October 21, 2015
Reebok, realizing how big a can of worms they opened, pulled the shirt and apolofized within an hour and a half:
We sincerely apologise for the offence caused by the UFC Ireland t-shirt. This was a design error and has now been removed.
— Reebok UK (@ReebokUK) October 21, 2015
Between the UFC/Reebok deal resulting in decreased overall pay to the fighters, Reebok’s seeming lack of understanding of MMA, and a gaffe-filled rollout of their MMA products, they’ve made a bad impression on the sport’s fans. This is just the latest faux pas, but it’s a really ugly one.
