The Atlanta Hawks had to pull a T-shirt giveaway after realizing that all-star guard Jeff Teague’s name was missing from the shirt. The T-shirt, which features the words “true believer” on the back, among the names of the Hawks roster, was supposed to be given out for Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the shirts were laid out on each seat of the Philips Arena, but were pulled the next day and were not replaced by game time.
It’s not as if Teague hadn’t pulled his weight during the regular season, warranting his omission from the T-shirt. Teague led the team in assists and finished second in Atlanta in points, steals and free-throw attempts during the season. Some players are giving the T-shirt manufacturer the benefit of the doubt, claiming that Teague’s name is lost in the negative space spelling out “true believer.”
Aside from Teague being missing from the shirt, Dan Devine from Yahoo! Sports noticed that it looked like Austin Daye’s name was spelled “Ausitn Daye” on the shirt. So it’s probably for the best that this idea was scrapped for the time being.
Sports giveaways can be a great way to draw in fans and make the game a memorable experience, but there have been plenty of botched giveaways in recent seasons that have gained as much, if not more, attention as the successful ones.
So far, there is no word on whether the shirts will be reprinted to include Teague. But despite his absence from the official shirt roster, he was allowed to play for the Hawks during their win over the Nets.
