DA to Selig: Yank gang apparel from stores

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has publicly called on Major League Baseball to stop the marketing of children's sports apparel used by gangs.Hynes' request, made during a news conference Thursday,

News 12 Staff

Mar 27, 2008, 9:36 PM

Updated 6,036 days ago

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Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has publicly called on Major League Baseball to stop the marketing of children's sports apparel used by gangs.Hynes' request, made during a news conference Thursday, came months after he sent MLB Commissioner Bud Selig a letter informing him that team-licensed hats, T-shirts and coats with gang colors and insignias are readily available in Brooklyn. The Yankees are one such team represented by that apparel, according to Hynes.
MLB brass vowed to pull the items from store shelves last August, but the district attorney's office found many stores are still selling the merchandise.
Hynes says a detective was recently able to purchase the apparel at Cap USA in Bushwick with assistance from an employee. Retailers argue that parents should be held accountable, not them.
According to Hynes, selling the apparel fuels feuds between gangs, such as the Crips and Bloods, and promotes violence. "A kid will buy one of these hats unknowingly and will walk out and get beaten up," Hynes says.