Boston Red Sox fans are accusing Major League Baseball’s licensed merchandise partner of everything from sloppiness to crimes against humanity after the team’s jerseys were unveiled at spring training in Florida.
Although no official changes were made by Fanatics, which produces Major League Baseball jerseys, or Nike, which designs them, Boston’s famed red piping now appears to be abutting the lettering on the team’s home white jerseys.
Rather than Nike, it’s Fanatics and its founder, Michael Rubin, who are being excoriated online.
‘MICHAEL RUBIN GET READY FOR THE HAGUE,’ one critic wrote on X.
Some simply referred to the billionaire CEO as ‘terrorist Michael Rubin,’ while others went a step further.
‘[Michael Rubin] is going somewhere deeper than hell and he better take fanatics with him,’ one wrote.
Injured Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck is seen with his new jersey this week in Florida. Many fans have noticed the ‘D’ and the ‘S’ in the lettering abutting the jersey’s red piping
Previous versions of the jersey allowed for more space between the piping and lettering
The Daily Mail has sought comment from Fanatics spokespeople.
This is just the latest criticism of Fanatics, which recently issued an apology to Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots fans over supply issues ahead of Super Bowl LX earlier this month.
‘NFL fans, we’ve seen your jersey feedback, and we take it very seriously,’ the company’s official X statement read. ‘We’ve let Patriots and Seahawks fans down with product availability, we own that, and we are sorry.’
But it wasn’t just supply issues that upset fans. Some who did manage to get their hands on official apparel claimed the merchandise was far from the standard game jerseys worn by players.
Fanatics rejected that accusation in its statement.
‘We’ve heard questions about the quality of these alternate jerseys and can assure you that, despite some unflattering photos, these jerseys are identical to the standard Nike replica “Game” jersey,’ the statement said.
Fanatics has apparel deals with nearly all major professional sports leagues, making the company nearly unavoidable for fans hoping to buy their teams’ latest threads.
Fans criticized the jerseys, which are designed by Nike but produced by Fanatics
And it’s that exclusivity that is beginning to irk sports fans.
‘Imagine if the only place you could buy burgers was McDonald’s and they charged $50,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘That’s what fanatics is in the jersey industry.’
It was just two years ago that MLB was forced to modify its Nike/Fanatics uniforms, as ESPN reported at the time. Players and fans had both complained about see-through fabric, mismatched gray tops and bottoms and other issues.
Major League Baseball issued a memo to the players’ union at the time, pinning the blame on Nike.
‘This has been entirely a Nike issue,’ the memo to players read. ‘At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.’
The union said at the time that Fanatics was not to blame.
