Reebok 'sincerely apologizes' for UFC Ireland tee

While there have been some notable exceptions over the decades, there's a reason that sports and politics generally mix like oil and water. Sports are, unto themselves, a special kind of politicking. People invest in groups and individuals, become wrapped up in philosophies and narratives, and place value on ideals that have little to no application outside of the sporting world. Mix in a little governmental political ideology to that you end up with a lot of emotionally charged, heavily invested fans grappling with a cultural quagmire that may be best left in a sphere that isn't supposed to be entertainment first and foremost.

That's the mess that Reebok have found themselves in after their recently released "UFC Ireland" t-shirt. The shirt (as seen above) came emblazoned with a map of Ireland, minus Northern Ireland, and was promoted with the phrase, "Show your UFC territorial allegiance." Apparently that wasn't the best idea, and Reebok have now issued an apology and pulled the shirt:

We sincerely apologise for the offence caused by the UFC Ireland t-shirt. This was a design error and has now been removed.

— Reebok UK (@ReebokUK) October 21, 2015

It's an inauspicious moment for the UFC/Reebok partnership that has already seen its share of inauspicious moments. Hopefully it's one that they've learned from, especially with UFC Seoul just around the corner.