Nike is taking a drubbing online, over it’s intention to place their “swoosh” logo over the right front breast on MLB’s 2020 jersey.
“We’re excited to kick off our partnership with Major League Baseball with the unveil of next season’s uniforms,” said Hal Melhart, Senior Product Line Manager for Nike Diamond. “Each franchise has a deeply personal history, with a visual identity that continues in this update. In the future, we look forward to preserving this integrity while still bringing more of Nike’s creativity to uniform designs, as we build energy around the game for its players and its fans.”
MLB jerseys of the past usually include sponsors on the sleeves or the back of the jersey, not so blatantly on the front.
So, with Nike’s first-time sponsorship of the league’s uniforms, “America’s game” now has the logo of a company that thinks the original American flag is a “symbol of slavery.”
At least a few fans find the new ad placement off-putting.
Still, others noted that soccer and WNBA jerseys already have sponsors in huge letters on the front:
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