‘Harambe’ is taken off banned-word list, so NFL fans can honor the late gorilla on customized jerseys
- Share via
NFL fans can once again put “Harambe” on the back of team jerseys if they wish to do so.
On Wednesday, that wasn’t the case. ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported that the online NFL Shop was blocking attempts to order customized jerseys featuring the name of the late gorilla, who was killed by a Cincinnati Zoo worker this spring after dragging a 3-year-old boy who had climbed into his habitat.
Turns out an employee of Fanatics, which handles online retail for all four major North American professional sports leagues, added “Harambe” to a list of banned words after an official from a Major League Baseball team expressed concern over the use of the gorilla’s name on customized jerseys, Rovell reported.
But on Thursday, Fanatics decided to remove “Harambe” from the banned list, according to Rovell, so now fans should be free to place the gorilla’s name on any jersey they like.
Just to be sure, though, let’s double-check for Rams fans:
Yep, looks like you’re all set.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
