CHARLESTON, W.Va. - It's Gov. Bob Wise vs. Abercrombie & Fitch — round two. Wise said the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer's latest T-shirt poking fun at West Virginia is "cruel."
The T-shirt's slogan is "West Virginia: No Lifeguard At the Gene Pool" and it has an image of a boy and girl in a kiddie pool superimposed on an outline of the state. The company is selling the T-shirt in women's sizes for $24.50.
"What I've learned about a bully is if you don't respond to a bully they just keep punching you," Wise told WSAZ-TV on Tuesday.
"I'd rather punch back. But I'd rather punch back using my plan, my scheme and at the same time get a positive message out about West Virginia," he said.
In March, Wise sent a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch demanding that the clothing retailer dump another T-shirt that spoofed the state with the slogan, "It's All Relative in West Virginia." He also criticized that T-shirt during an appearance on NBC's "Today."
"It is unfortunate that Abercrombie & Fitch continues to perpetuate stereotypes rather than positive things like the number of residents serving in the military or the state's PROMISE scholarship program," Wise spokeswoman Jodi Omear said Wednesday.
Omear said she did not know what the state's response would be.
Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman Tom Lennox did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday. Lennox had said in March that the company's shirts — which target young adults — are meant to be "humorous and lighthearted."
West Virginia is not the only state being lampooned by the company. Other T-shirts target Kentucky ("Electricity In Almost Every Town") and Wisconsin ("Wisconsin Cuts the Cheese").
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said state officials should ignore the T-shirt.
"This is all about money and drawing attention to them, so I don't really care what they do," Jones said.
The T-shirt's slogan is "West Virginia: No Lifeguard At the Gene Pool" and it has an image of a boy and girl in a kiddie pool superimposed on an outline of the state. The company is selling the T-shirt in women's sizes for $24.50.
"What I've learned about a bully is if you don't respond to a bully they just keep punching you," Wise told WSAZ-TV on Tuesday.
"I'd rather punch back. But I'd rather punch back using my plan, my scheme and at the same time get a positive message out about West Virginia," he said.
In March, Wise sent a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch demanding that the clothing retailer dump another T-shirt that spoofed the state with the slogan, "It's All Relative in West Virginia." He also criticized that T-shirt during an appearance on NBC's "Today."
"It is unfortunate that Abercrombie & Fitch continues to perpetuate stereotypes rather than positive things like the number of residents serving in the military or the state's PROMISE scholarship program," Wise spokeswoman Jodi Omear said Wednesday.
Omear said she did not know what the state's response would be.
Abercrombie & Fitch spokesman Tom Lennox did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday. Lennox had said in March that the company's shirts — which target young adults — are meant to be "humorous and lighthearted."
West Virginia is not the only state being lampooned by the company. Other T-shirts target Kentucky ("Electricity In Almost Every Town") and Wisconsin ("Wisconsin Cuts the Cheese").
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said state officials should ignore the T-shirt.
"This is all about money and drawing attention to them, so I don't really care what they do," Jones said.
