The Washington NFL Team. The Atlanta Braves. The Cleveland Indians. Several professional sports teams employ names and mascots that turn Native Americans into caricatures. Yesterday, Bomani Jones—host of ESPN’s “The Right Time With Bomani Jones”—blew the conversation around racist mascots wide open.
While guest hosting the network’s “Mike & Mike” yesterday (April 7), Jones wore a shirt with a logo reminiscent of the Cleveland Indians’, only instead of showing the team’s name and “Chief Wahoo,” it read “Caucasians” and featured a White man’s face with a dollar sign replacing the original logo’s feather.
The online reaction was so strong that he sat down with Molly Qerim during the show to explain exactly why he wore the shirt:
The statement is obvious. This is the same thing. What we have here, this is the same thing that goes on with the logo for the Cleveland Indians. So to have a problem with the logo of this would be to have a problem with the Indians. But if you’re quiet about the Indians and now you’ve got something to say about my shirt, I think it’s time for introspection.
To say that people were offended would be an understatement. And, as they often do in 2016, many (White) people took to Twitter to tell Jones about their outrage. Rather than letting their complaints go unacknowledged, Jones responded in the best possible way: trolling the hell out of them.
From the petty to the insightful, here are his most hilarious responses:
Original
Nice shirt @bomani_jones wore on TV. Now, 3 people know who he is. #yawn #whoareyou
— Brian V. (@godogs44) April 7, 2016
Clapback
pass me a cup for all these salty tears. https://t.co/hkiH03lhbq
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 7, 2016
Original
@bomani_jones serious Q, what’s the general reaction if a white dude (like me) wears that shirt?
— Dad (@chiefbeek) April 7, 2016
Clapback
ask the white man who created it. this isn’t that big or bold. https://t.co/ndNJnnmPhw
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 7, 2016
Original
@bomani_jones @SwaggyGuyT thk you bomani for showing us your just another in the long line of race baiting hypocrits. ESPN shut you down lol
— Ben Gamron (@bgamron) April 7, 2016
Clapback
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 7, 2016
Original
@bomani_jones good way to lose your job bud.
— Davey Baldwin (@DBalsagna) April 7, 2016
Clapback
we can look for jobs together. meaning i can find one and you can ask me for an application. https://t.co/fKxWjmtgyX
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 7, 2016
Original
@bomani_jones most shocking thing is they actually referred to you as a journalist.
— kslim (@kslimlb3) April 7, 2016
Clapback
"international lover" would take too many characters. https://t.co/xcBfaUAtdZ
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 7, 2016
Original
@bomani_jones Non issue. Just like Redskins. Some like it some don’t. Your shirt, some whites like & some don’t. How bout we cure cancer?
— Reggie SMooVe (@CodeReg) April 8, 2016
Clapback
yeah. had i not worn that shirt, i’d have been in there curing cancer. my bad. used my resources inefficiently. https://t.co/vQCLSBrMKa
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) April 8, 2016