META - MGoBlog rights a wrong, teams up with Hope for Pahokee Charity!

Submitted by Butterfield on

EDIT:  See Brian's comments at end of OP.  As is the usual around here, the finest blog in the blogiverse, great good will come of what, just yesterday, seemed an unfortunate situation.  Great job, MGoBlog. 

ORIGINAL POST:

A week ago, Six Zero unveiled the 2012 MGoShirts.  Included amongst them was this one:

http://mgoblogstore.com/products/view/4147/49 

Well, as many of you know, Hope for Pahokee, a charity started by Martavious Odoms (amongst others) to help impoverished Pahokee, Florida, has been selling #Eatin t-shirts for some time now, with 100 percent of the proceeds being directed to fighting hunger in Pahokee.  http://hopeforpahokee.com/#65e/goodsie

#EATING shirt

A great deal of posters came forward in the comments section of the unveiling post to show their disdain for what is basically stealing.  (http://mgoblog.com/diaries/official-unveiling-mgoshirts-fall-2012-edition#comment-1684703) Unless MGoBlog has some sort of agreement with Hope for Pahokee to give 100 percent of the proceeds of the MGoBlog "Eatin'" shirt to the charity, selling this "rip-off" is absolutely shameful and all involved should be embarassed regarding their decision making.  Unfortunately, no representatives of MGoBlog have come forward to publicly address this issue, to remove the shirt from the store, to say there is a partnership with HfP, or in any way aleviate the concerns of the many posters regarding this product in the last 6 days since it was listed for sale.  As of 4:23 PST, the shirt is still for sale with no indication that proceeds benefit Hope for Pahokee.  

Come on, MGoBlog - you're better than this.

[ED: Hi. It's Brian. We're donating all proceeds from the shirt to Hope For Pahokee. I personally had missed the original Odoms shirt, and I'm sure Six did as well. You may resume panicking about the defensive line.]

 

 

 

 

uniqenam

August 27th, 2012 at 7:31 PM ^

Have you ever heard of email? It's ridiculous to bring this to the attention of the mass blog public without first trying to contact Brian, Six Zero, Odoms, or anyone else involved.

Butterfield

August 27th, 2012 at 7:33 PM ^

It was brought to the attention of the mass public when the shirt was advertised for sale on the website.  Multiple users commented on this with a week passing and no response - either in the previous thread or by email (Brian has our emails if he wanted to respond to my comment privately). 

Frankly this should be brought to everyone's attention so they don't buy the shirt. 

Section 1

August 28th, 2012 at 9:06 AM ^

I've previously spoken out against Denard's on-field eating stunt as a way of celebrating touchdowns.  I hope we have seen the end of it.

The MGoShirt was seemingly celebrating that stunt.  I don't like either one, but I will at least give the MGoStore that much credit.  They were responding to what Denard did on the field.  Not commandeering a charitable symbol.

And by his own account, Denard's "eating" was related to the team's feeling that they had been starved from winning, and that it was "time to eat."  It was not, by Denard's own account, a signal of his support for a charity.

I've got nothing against Pahokee, or the Pahokee charity, or any other charity.  But I do like accuracy, and I like careful attribution.  The basic allegation in the OP is such a stretch, that I can't help but make this observation. 

I hope the Pahokee charity is a success and that it finds a way to do the good works that are intended.  I have also had enough of Michigan football players doing the "eating" thing on the field.  

OP fail.

Butterfield

August 28th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^

Your inability to see the forest through the trees rears its uninformed head once again.  This has nothing to do whether you liked or disliked the eating gesture.  All you need to know is this:

1)  A Michigan man has been selling "#Eating" t-shirts to raise funds for his charity to help Pahokee for several months.

2) A shirt with the same premise is offered for sale on MGoBlog months after the charity shirts were offered for sale.

3) One Michigan man does not undercut another Michigan man, especially when it comes to charitable work.

As illustrated by Brian's gesture to donate the proceeds to Hope for Pahokee, he gets it.  You don't - which sadly is no surprise.

Section 1

August 28th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^

Certainly, by Denard's own words, he wasn't promoting any charity when he did the "eating" thing after scoring a touchdown.

Did the #EATING charity exist then?  In November, 2011?  I don't know; I don't think so.  At least I don't recall it.  As far as I can tell, it began in the spring of 2012.  Is there any reference, anywhere, to "#EATING" before then?

Brian's gesture to donate proceeds of his Eating t-shirt to the Pahokee charity is (a) nice; (b) thoughtful, and (c) wise, from the standpoint of public relations and political correctness.

I never doubted that the MGo "Eating" shirts came after the "#EATING" charity formation.  They both came after Denard's on-field "eating."  Brian's shirt, as I understood it, was without reference to the charity, but rather was a direct reference to Denard's actions.  Which originated, as I stated, without any thought to Pahokee.  After which Denard was asked about it, and said not one thing about Pahokee.  

Now while the chronology is pretty obvious to most, just because I am that kind of a guy, and you are that kind of a guy, here's the Denard quote, from November, 2011, for you to "eat":

 

 

Commentary

Hard-running Denard delivers victory

Junior quarterback earns accolades for pilling up 5 total TDs and 170 rushing yards

Updated: November 26, 2011, 7:21 PM ET

By Chantel Jennings | WolverineNation

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Quarterback Denard Robinson has begun spoon-feeding himself air after big plays and touchdowns.

"This program has been starving," he said last week. "It's time to eat." 

 

http://espn.go.com/colleges/michigan/football/story/_/id/7283997/denard…

Butterfield

August 28th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^

Nobody was claiming anything illegal was done. Nobody was saying there was any issue other than stepping on the toes of another Michigan man.  People are just saying there is a right thing to do here, and that is to not compete with the charity of a Michigan alumnus when so many other options exist to make money for this site.  It doesn't matter what the reference was to, it matters what the shirts say.  And the shirts say the same thing. 

That's it - don't make it so complicated.  Thankfully the proprietor of this site has a moral and ethical understanding that you don't possess. 

Section 1

August 28th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^

The person who went off with harsh allegations bordering on illegality was, uh, you:

A great deal of posters came forward in the comments section of the unveiling post to show their disdain for what is basically stealing. (http://mgoblog.com/diaries/official-unveiling-mgoshirts-fall-2012-edition#comment-1684703) Unless MGoBlog has some sort of agreement with Hope for Pahokee to give 100 percent of the proceeds of the MGoBlog "Eatin'" shirt to the charity, selling this "rip-off" is absolutely shameful and all involved should be embarassed regarding their decision making. Unfortunately, no representatives of MGoBlog have come forward to publicly address this issue, to remove the shirt from the store, to say there is a partnership with HfP, or in any way aleviate the concerns of the many posters regarding this product in the last 6 days since it was listed for sale. As of 4:23 PST, the shirt is still for sale with no indication that proceeds benefit Hope for Pahokee.  

 

So... eat me.

M-Wolverine

August 27th, 2012 at 7:49 PM ^

Because I didn't want to pile on. But it does look bad that no one has even explained anything in a week. If MGoBlog has one flaw, it seems bad at communicating issues (HTTV, etc). There's tons of concepts for shirts; I don't see why anyone would be wedded to this one. It's not great. You'd think opening yourself up to litigious actions would be enough. But the silence has been pretty deafening.

denardogasm

August 27th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^

I was about to support you on this but then your unnecessarily vitriolic final paragraph made me simply not like you, so now I will abstain from this argument.  Telling people their behavior is sleezy and they should be embarrassed without knowing their motivations is not the best way to get what you want, especially since they provide you with a free service.  So even though I agree with you in principle, I doubt this was intentionally stolen since the creators of the blog love Odoms and his work just as much as you.  As others have said, if you want something done, probably best to keep your bashing discrete.

Butterfield

August 27th, 2012 at 8:30 PM ^

In hindsight it was a bad joke - problem is I work with comedians for a living and nothing is off limits.  My filter has been damaged by the constant exposure.  It should be pointed out that even I don't think the two situations are comparable in scale - the only thing they have in common is someone wanting an issue to go away quietly. 

Maize.Blue Wagner

August 27th, 2012 at 9:37 PM ^

I never said go away quietly. I said that this blog is not required to meet the demands of individual users or "aleviate the concerns of the many posters".  They may want to if they think that's the best way to run a blog and increase their readership, and if they don't, they may drive people away.  That's the risk they run. However, I think it's arrogant to come on the board and start telling the people who  have made all this possible what they should and should not do. 



I have no problem with you being as loud as you want, but your way of going about it has hurt your cause in my eyes...a cause I otherwise wasn't very familiar with until this post. 

Vivz

August 27th, 2012 at 8:30 PM ^

A) Six zero is ripping off the idea from HfP, and is everything the OP said

B) Six Zero is negligent of the greater Michigan commmunity outside of MGoBLog and it is an honest coincidence 

C) Six Zero thinks by having a bowl instead of a hashtag it is differentiated enough that it is his own original work AND that its ok to compete with a charity.

strafe

August 27th, 2012 at 7:51 PM ^

It's hilarious that Six Zero has gotten on people's shit for using his images as their avatar, then does something like this.

MaizeMN

August 27th, 2012 at 8:00 PM ^

...I don't believe that the MGoStore is obliged to do so; free market economics and the like. We as consumers, however, can choose which shirt to purchase, knowing full-well where the proceeds will be distributed.

Bluemandew

August 27th, 2012 at 8:00 PM ^

As supportive of all things Michigan as this blog is you would think that it would have been addressed. It appears they are stepping on the toes of a worth-while charity run by a alumn. 

My hope is that a arrangement has been made and we have just not been made aware of it.