--- description: Under Armour says it has removed it's "Band of Ballers" shirt that was inspired by the image of American soldiers raising an American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. title: Under Armour Removes Iwo Jima-Inspired Shirt After Complaints image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Retail](/tag/retail/) ## Retail Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Under Armour Removes Iwo Jima-Inspired Shirt After Complaints by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 6:11 PM CUT by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 6:11 PM CUT Under Armour is removing its “Band of Ballers” shirt, which was inspired by the image of U.S. soldiers raising an American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II, following a wave of criticism. The shirt, made by Under Armour, depicted athletes raising a basket ball hoop in a similar fashion. The backlash against the company for the portrayal was swift. > [](https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/599610116405645312) Under Armour responded in a series of tweets over the weekend: > [](https://twitter.com/UnderArmour/status/599603544627503104) > [](https://twitter.com/UnderArmour/status/599603847779201024) > [](https://twitter.com/UnderArmour/status/599603903571861504) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/"},"headline":"Under Armour Removes Iwo Jima-Inspired Shirt After Complaints","datePublished":"2015-05-18T18:11:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:25:29.565Z","description":"The shirt reimagined the image of American soldiers raising a flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima","url":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/","keywords":["Retail","Under Armour"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/retail/","name":"Retail"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/","name":"Under Armour Removes Iwo Jima-Inspired Shirt After Complaints"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Tech School: Which TV Streaming Service is Right for You?","description":"With several new TV streaming options available, it can be hard to decide what to choose. Here's what you need to know if you're thinking of ditching cable.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dooN9OJv/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-15T17:59:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dooN9OJv.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/","duration":"PT2M39S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3882934/under-armour-removes-shirt/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```