Texas Tech T-shirt controversy

According to ESPN.com Texas Tech has banned the sales of T-shirts that have Vick hanging the dog mascot of rival Texas A&M. The red and black shirts, with text that says "VICK 'EM" on the front in an apparent reference to the Aggies' slogan "Git 'em," was created by a Tech student who was trying to sell them before Saturday's game. The back of the shirt shows a football player wearing the No. 7 Vick jersey holding a rope with an image of the mascot Reveille at the end of a noose. (Description taken from ESPN.com for lack of better way to describe the shirts). The shirt creator Geoffrey Candia, a part of the Theta Chi fraternity, had sold around 300 of the shirts before the sales were banned, 200 shy of the projected sale total of 500. These two schools have a long bitter history toward each other, hence the reason they are considered bitter rivals, which would explain the T-shirts.

At least the issue is the subject of T-shirts rather than something much worse, such as a violent confrontation between the two schools. I personally find the T-shirts amusing rather than hurtful, even though this is not the preferred politically correct viewpoint. It’s only a student hoping to create a humorous T-shirt in the spirit of the fierce rivalry. There is no doubt that people are offended by the shirts, but as I said earlier the shirts would be preferred to violence. I almost feel sorry for Michael Vick. He just can’t seem to stay out of the media’s limelight, even if he is not directly involved in the controversy. Sure his situation is highlighted, but it’s almost refreshing to se that he’s not the catalyst in this particular story. Just let him serve his time and be done with it. It’s almost as bad as the constant coverage of Anna Nicole Smith’s death. If these shirts would have had any other subject on them, I doubt that the story would have made much more than the local newspaper if that.