Under Armour forced to pull T-shirt comparing basketball to World War II

Hayley Peterson

May 18, 2015, 18:40 IST

The "Band of Ballers" T-shirt (right) is imprinted with a graphic resembling the famous flag-raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II (left).

Under Armour is facing a public backlash for selling a T-shirt that compares basketball to the famous flag-raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

The "Band of Ballers" T-shirt is imprinted with the silhouettes of men raising a basketball hoop.

The company has pulled the shirt from its website and stores following an onslaught of complaints, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The company apologized for the shirt on Twitter Saturday.

"Under Armour has the utmost respect and admiration for active duty service men and women and veterans who have served our country," the company said. "We deeply regret and apologize the release of a shirt that is not reflective of our commitment to support & honor our country's heroes. We have taken the necessary steps to remove this shirt, and any related shirts, from all retail and ensure this doesn't happen again."

The backlash comes a couple days after Nike landed in hot water for offering police officers a 30% discount for a "law enforcement appreciation day."

Critics blasted Nike for supporting law enforcement in the wake of a string of shootings involving police officers who killed black men.