Fact check, anyone?
As tempests in a teapot go the bashing of Joe-College.com and owner Larry Sinks over a K-State coach T-shirt ranks right up there.
A mini media frenzy erupted today over a Joe-College T shirt that sophomorically read: Frank Martin Mows My Lawn.
The controversy being that Martin is Cuban and the lawn mowing angle was racist.
Huh?
When did grass cutting become a Cuban stereotype.
Now the story behind the story, that other local media didn’t bother to check out.
“Well, I’m getting ragged for it but basically what happened is we decided to do the shirt – a college kid submitted it to me – then the next thing we know, somebody said it was racist,” Sinks says. “I thought (Martin) was Italian but somebody said he’s Cuban, so we pulled the shirt.”
As for Sinks motive – forget racism…
“The intent of the shirt was that K-State is an agricultural school and the joke was that the guy may be a great coach in Manhattan but he can’t coach in Lawrence.”
A stereotype/joke Sinks has played out in any number of other T-shirts bagging on K-State.
“There are a lot of funny ones in there,” Sinks says. “My shirts are not meant to hurt anybody, they’re just meant to be funny. We don’t ever try to hurt anybody.”
Sinks declined to address the subject, but sources say he called Martin yesterday to explain the mistake and apologize.
Ross
What? No news on The Corner Restaurant? Guess a Joe College story will have to do….
How does agricultural school = lawnmowing? That doesn’t even makes sense as a joke. I hear KSU has some wonderful landscape engineering and golf course super intendent programs, but I doubt Sinks knows that.
It was racist. At least he was able to bring himself to blame a student for the idea.
Cliffy
His explanation doesn’t make sense. Sorry. The guy is obviously a douche.
OlatheCat
Yeah, it’s definitely racist and we all know what the intent is/was. Guess Sinks thinks we’re stupid.
jojo
you guys bettr take it easy on frankie or he’ll
send his goons out to wack you!
A tshirt creates this much commotion?
Are you serious hearne? It’s aqll in fun…
so stop making it out to be some huge
controversy.
Hearne…the guy was right…slow news day.
Gavin
So, would it have been okay if the shirt said “Frank Martin shovels my driveway” or maybe “Frank Martin Pumps My Gas”? “Frank Martin Delivers My Paper”? Can we plug in some other manual labor gig? Frank Martin Cleans My Gutter? Frank Martin Got Hyman Roth and Johnny Ola Laid? Seriously, someone give me an acceptable standard I can use if I decide to make fun of Frank Martin.
Bull Connor
Hell yes it was racist. And that’s why Larry Sinks has my full endorsement! Larry Sinks for chief of police!
Tim
ohhhh, suuuuuuuurre. now it makes sense. nice try sleezy sinks
Good Old Fashioned T-Shirt Racism In Kansas [College Basketb
[…] Joe-College finally pulled the shirts, and owner Larry Sinks says there’s a perfectly good explanation: […]
Lenexan
for the seriously obtuse, the racial aspect is that hispanics are gardners.
If you can’t see that, I bet you are incapable of brushing your teeth.
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