STARKVILLE, Miss. — There’s a lot of damage control in Starkville after someone, maybe with too much time on their hands, decoded a hidden message in the baseball warmups worn by the men’s team.
The shirts, provided by Adidas feature a version of the famous Las Vegas sign, but this one reads “VIVA STARKVEGAS Mississippi.”
The rest of the shirt is covered with multi-colored dotted lettering spelling out words like “Hail State” and “Left Field Lounge.”
Someone realized if you look at the shirt upside down it spells out, “F–k THE SCHOOL UP NORTH.”
As soon as word spread, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin tweeted that the shirts were offensive and were not school approved.
Late Thursday night, Adidas took the fall for the shirts.
“We apologize to Mississippi State, their student-athletes, fans and alumni for this error. The Bulldogs’ baselayer graphic today featured old artwork that was never presented to the university. This graphic does not reflect our brand values nor those of Mississippi State. We take full responsibility for this error and wish Mississippi State the best of luck during Super Bulldog Weekend.”
According to the Clarion-Ledger, the shirts will, not surprisingly, be banned from games.
