It’s not surprising there was such a backlash from anti-hunters and animal rights activists after video surfaced of Josh Bowmar killing a black bear with a home-made spear during a primitive hunt. That’s kind of what anti-hunters do, they get angry over something that was a necessary part of human survival for thousands of years and still is in many parts of the world.
What is surprising is that Bowmar’s wife, Sarah, was dropped by Under Armour after the Mirror picked up the story and brought in bandwagoners who wanted nothing more than to demonize the hunter and his wife. It’s a little ridiculous that all it took to drop one of their athletes was a few signatures and some complaints on the Under Armour Facebook page.
Sarah Bowmar was understandably upset over the decision of the company to part ways. When the split happened, she called on her supporters to let Under Armour know how they felt about the company’s decision. They responded.
Hundreds of hunters left complaints and comments on the company’s Facebook page and an online petition has reached over 8,000 signatures – that’s more than double the number of signatures the petition to drop Bowmar received. There were even some posts that showed people burning or donating their Under Armour gear because they refused to ever associate themselves with a company that abandons their partnerships so easily.
Tailoring a company to a demographic that is smaller than their hunting customer base, like in Under Armour’s case, is never a good idea.
It’s understandable why Under Armour may have been apprehensive after complaints arose over the video and their affiliation with the hunter’s wife, but the initial backlash pales in comparison to how cutting ties with the Bowmar’s made their customers feel.
This trend of companies cowering to those who don’t even buy their products because those people got offended needs to stop.
