Last year the Milwaukee Bucks brought back their popular black “Fear the Deer” jerseys, but also added something a bit unique. As can clearly be seen right above the number, blue, black, green, cream and white lines were inserted– representing what the Bucks referred to as the “Cream City rainbow.”
From the get-go, some fans took issue with the “blue line,” suggesting it showed support for the police in a time when the black community was coming out vocally against racial injustice. Yes, they accused the Bucks of this — the same team that sent a special gift to Jacob Blake and kick-started the played-led boycott in the NBA last year. The team that was literally willing to risk a playoff game for their convictions.
This week, the issue creeped up again.
What’s with the “thin blue line” on the Bucks’ jersey this year???? @NBA @Bucks @TrueHoop @BigWos @seeratsohi @netw3rk @EdgeofSports @Giannis_An34 @KingJames @Herring_NBA @davidaldridgedc @andraydomise @TheSteinLine @mspears96 pic.twitter.com/gAJwljS7hq
— Persona Non Greta (@NBAThunberg) January 20, 2021
Has a strange resemblance to this white supremacist symbol: pic.twitter.com/tAuhps3lVB
— Persona Non Greta (@NBAThunberg) January 20, 2021
Great Q.
From BRING IT IN today. @Prof_Suddler first made us aware of this. https://t.co/7asJf87bZ9 https://t.co/fJZj0rj8t6
— Henry Abbott (@TrueHoop) January 20, 2021
This is a question that has been all over the web since 2019.
Looking at Milwaukee Bucks uniforms over the years, the “Cream City Rainbow” has never included the color blue. Now, @Nike unveils a @Bucks uni with a Blue Lives Matter stripe, in a city whose police dept. has a current brutality case against it by Bucks player Sterling Brown? pic.twitter.com/p0Tn0DU8JO
— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) October 11, 2019
Multiple people explained the rationale for the Bucks’ blue line, but for whatever reason it never seems to sink in.
It’s lit’rally called Great Lakes Blue
— colin cowterds (@colincowterds) January 20, 2021
Do y’all actually not know? The blue represents Lake Michigan
— toofyhoops (@toofyhoops) January 20, 2021
No, it’s represents the lakes rivers and streams of Wisconsin. The green represents the forests and the cream is for the cream colored bricks used to build most of Milwaukee’s older buildings, using the clay found around Milwaukee
— kyle pockey (@kpockey) January 20, 2021
They’ve had blue on their jerseys since 2015. It’s a nod to the Great Lakes region that Milwaukee is surrounded by. The blue represents the three rivers that run through Milwaukee and Lake Michigan. Really really easy to look up this information… come on now
— Kev-O (@kschwoCHI) January 20, 2021
Although the reasoning behind the blue line is pretty clear and self-explanatory, it will be interesting to see if the franchise (or Nike) ultimately feels compelled to remove it just because of the headache that ensues from the misunderstanding of its meaning.
Fans getting upset about NBA uniforms is nothing new. There was outrage over the Cleveland Cavaliers’ uniforms at one point as well, but the reason for the outrage is a sensitive one, and might ultimately end up being more trouble than it’s worth.
Back when Tiger didn’t know how to get women, MJ gave him a 6-word pick-up line that changed everything. https://t.co/OTz84sZ7vY
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 19, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
