Chicago sports apparel maker pulls T-shirt countering ‘Boston strong’ slogan

As the Blackhawks battle the Bruins for hockey’s Stanley Cup, Cubby Tees grudgingly recalls the ‘Chicago stronger’ shirt and insists no offense was meant for those affected by the bombings in April.

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Until last Friday, the company was selling a T-shirt that included a part of the Chicago Blackhawks logo and the phrase, “Chicago stronger.” The shirt was a reference to the “Boston strong” slogan that became a rallying cry for the Massachusetts city after the April bombings at the Boston Marathon.

The Blackhawks are playing the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals.

The website Boston Sports Then and Now collected just a few of the angry tweets directed at Cubby Tees and at Chicago sports fans. The words “disrespectful” and “classless” were used.

Chicago Now‘s Ted Gruber called on Cubby Tees to “remove the shirt and have an ounce of respect for those people.”

Cubby Tees did, but not without a fight. In a lengthy blog post on its website, Cubby Tees said it endured a “good new-fashioned Twitter lynching” and was taking action that appeared to “bow to bullying.”

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