When Bomani Jones wore his “Caucasians” t-shirt on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike show last week, it caused a sensation on the Internet. It also caused a sensation within ESPN which told Jones to cover it up. But by the time the shirt parodying the Cleveland Indians logo was covered up, people were searthing on where to buy it.
The Associated Press reports that the store which sells the “Caucasians” t-shirt has been going non-stop since Jones wore it trying to fulfil orders since Thursday:
Brian Kirby, who runs Shelf Life Clothing Co., told The Associated Press that more than 2,000 shirts have been sold since Jones sported one on Thursday while co-hosting the network’s ”Mike & Mike” show. At one point, Kirby said, traffic to his website was so heavy that the site crashed, and his internet host dropped him.
That’s pretty amazing that his webhost would drop him, but the site has since been restored. Interestingly enough, the shirt has been available since 2006. It sells for $22 and Kirby says he normally sells 7,000 “Caucasians” shirts a year, but now with the nationwide exposure, it appears that’s going to change.
All it took for the shirt’s sales to take off was one appearance. And while Jones did not mention it as he was on the Mike & Mike show, the appearance was enough to make the site’s traffic reach the stratosphere. And it appears that the furor over the shirt won’t be dying down for a while.
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