urban outfitters kent state

Urban Outfitters has been forced to apologize after causing outrage for selling a "bloodstained" Kent State University sweatshirt on their retail website.

You can’t hear the name Kent State without thinking about the infamous shooting massacre in 1970, when four unarmed students were killed and nine more injured, after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a peaceful protest.

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Immortalizing tragedy urban outfitters kent state

The dark time in America’s history has since been immortalized in the protest song Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

And, it seems some genius at Urban Outfitters thought it a great idea to also immortalize the tragedy by way of a fashion garment.

Broken in urban outfitters kent state

The clothing company described the sweatshirt—which has the University's faded logo across the front, along with what looks like a number of bloodstains—as being in “vintage condition” and “perfectly broken in.”

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The one-of-a-kind item was offered up for a bargain $129, along with the assurance, "Get it or regret it!"

Social media was soon alight with outrage over the shirt, with many vowing to boycott the clothing chain and return recent purchases.

Oopsie, our bad! urban outfitters kent state

Not surprisingly, the high-ups at Urban Outfitters were quick to apologize for the offense caused and released a humble apology on Twitter Monday.

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The retailers claimed the perceived bloodstains were not actually blood, or indeed, added by them, but instead, were just signs of wear and tear.

Urban Outfitters sincerely apologizes for any offense our Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt may have caused. 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. The one-of-a-kind item was purchased as part of our sun-faded vintage collection. There is no blood on this shirt nor has this item been altered in any way, "The red stains are discoloration from the original shade of the shirt and the holes are from natural wear and fray. Again, we deeply regret that this item was perceived negatively and we have removed it immediately from our website to avoid further upset.

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Meanwhile, the Kent, Ohio, college also responded to the outcry, publishing a statement on their website

May 4, 1970, was a watershed moment for the country and especially the Kent State family. We lost four students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others were changed forever. We take great offense to a company using our pain for their publicity and profit. This item is beyond poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still hurts the Kent State community today. We invite the leaders of this company as well as anyone who invested in this item to tour our May 4 Visitors Center, which opened two years ago, to gain perspective on what happened 44 years ago and apply its meaning to the future.

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