Blood on a football jersey always has been viewed as a badge of honor.
Until now.
Northwestern University and athletic apparel maker Under Armour have created a stir with the uniforms Under Armour designed for the Wildcats to wear on Nov. 16 to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that works to empower veterans who have been injured.
Northwestern will sell the jerseys at the game, and 10 percent of the proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, along with 100 percent of the proceeds from a postgame auction of the actual jerseys the players wear during the game.
The uniforms and helmets include stars and stripes from the flag. What has critics outraged is the appearance of blood splattered all over the red stripes in the fabric and on the helmet.
The New York Times reported that a woman named Karen Meredith, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004, was aghast at the site of the uniforms.
"My son was killed by a head injury, he was shot in the head," Meredith told NBC Bay Area after seeing the uniforms. "All I could see at that second was that's probably what his uniform, what his army uniform looked like, that it was drops of blood," she said of the slashes of red.
The Times reported that Meredith further slammed the uniform on her blog as "gore porn" that's "neither honorable or patriotic" and others were just as outraged.
"A Facebook page belonging to the uniforms' designer, Under Armour, has been seen under siege by upset commenters after unveiling photos of the Wildcat uniforms Monday," the Times reported.
Under Armour reached out to Deadspin.com for an official statement:
"Our greatest heroes are the men and women who serve this country and are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice to fight for our freedoms. Under Armour's long-standing partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project is a reflection of our deepest gratitude for this bravery, and it has provided us with a platform to offer financial support to these veterans. For the past five years, we have worked hand-in-hand with WWP to design patriotic uniforms that honor our heroes, with 100% of proceeds from game-worn jersey auctions going directly to WWP. The bold blue and red graphic patterns on the Northwestern University WWP uniforms are meant to celebrate our military personnel and were inspired by images of actual American flags that have been flown around the world in harsh conditions over extended periods of time, as a further tribute to the indomitable spirit of our nation and its protectors. The suggestion that these uniforms are depicting streaks of blood is completely false and uninformed. Under Armour will continue to support the military in the most respectful, visible and meaningful ways possible."
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