Update: In a tweet today, Walmart told Samantha Ficco, “We’re so embarrassed we may never stick our head out of our shell again! Thanks for guiding this lost Terrapin back to MD! -Sonny.”
Original: Walmart is getting a lot of flak for selling T-shirts promoting the University of Maryland Terapins with an outline of Massachusetts. The mistake surfaced last summer on Twitter and again last week by Samantha Ficco, who added a photo of both states in case Walmart needed a geography lesson.
Dear @Walmart I want to inform you that you’re selling UMD shirts with the state of Massachusetts on them. pic.twitter.com/RjzK4CdOHH
— Samantha Ficco (@Samficco) March 30, 2016
Ficco’s tweet got more than 1,500 likes, 1,300 retweets, and a response from Walmart that only makes matters worse.
@Samficco The state of Maryland is shaped to dip down on the right hand side which includes the word “Terps” for the team. -Marie
— Walmart (@Walmart) March 31, 2016
@Samficco On the map, MA and MD are shaped somewhat similarly with the exception of that dip. Thanks for reaching out, Samantha! -Marie
— Walmart (@Walmart) March 31, 2016
Standing by its reasoning, Walmart is still selling the Russell Athletic T-shirts at its stores, The Washington Post reports. The retailer and Russell Athletics have yet to respond to inquiries from DCist.
