Activist says Arkansas sheriff's office forced inmates to wear Nike shirts in mug shots

by Clara Turnage | October 10, 2018 at 9:45 p.m.

An activist on social media alleged Wednesday that a sheriff’s office in south Arkansas was forcing inmates to wear a Nike shirt in mug shots to mock the company’s recent deal with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. ... Activist and columnist Shaun King posted a photo of 12 inmates wearing Nike shirts on Twitter and Facebook late Wednesday and said that Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts was “putting Nike t-shirts on people they arrest and making them wear them during mug shots. Source says it is to mock Nike and Colin Kaepernick. Disgusting.”
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The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reached out to the Roberts on Wednesday evening but was unable to speak with him. Calls to the sheriff’s office were directed to a voicemail for the the public relations officer, Chief Deputy Charles Phillips, who was also unavailable Wednesday night. ... About 9 p.m. Wednesday, less than an hour after King posted the allegation to social media, the Union County sheriff’s office removed all photos of inmates from the jail’s online roster.

Before the photos were taken down, at least 11 of the 182 inmates were shown wearing a large, black T-shirt with NIKE ATHLETICS in boldface font above Nike’s signature check mark.

Though King’s post features two Nike shirts — the aforementioned T-shirt and a black polo shirt with a small white Nike swoosh in the upper right-hand corner — the second shirt could be seen in mug shots as far back as July, before the Sept. 3 announcement of the Nike-Kaepernick deal.
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By KATE GIBSON MONEYWATCH October 11, 2018, 12:46 PM

Activist claims Arkansas sheriff's office is dressing inmates in Nike shirts for their mug shots

Last Updated Oct 11, 2018 1:51 PM EDT
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Less than an hour after King, who is also a columnist for The Intercept, posted his allegation and photos on Twitter Wednesday night, the Union County sheriff's office had scrubbed the jail's online roster of all inmate photos, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. As of Thursday, no mug shots were visible on the site.

In a statement sent to CBS MoneyWatch, Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts said that clothing is provided to people who came to jail without "proper attire during the booking process." The intent was not to "demean or disparage" anyone accused of a crime, said the sheriff, who added that he wanted to apologize to anyone offended by the Nike shirts.

"We are not, and will not, be influenced by current political and social debates in the media," Roberts said in the statement. "This shirt is not only in use now, but has also been for several months prior. We have taken steps to rectify this issue and insure that this will never happen again."


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