The Dallas Cowboys have received backlash after the team’s recent decision to sell gun-themed coffee blends in its stadium that include names such as “Murdered Out” and “AK-47 Espresso.”
The partnership with Black Rifle Coffee Co., a veteran founded and run company, was announced by the Cowboys on its Twitter the day after seven people were killed and dozens more injured in a shooting during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Along with the announcement, the team released a 30-second video, which called Black Rifle’s coffee “America’s Coffee.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a statement to The Dallas Morning News, emphasizing the Salt Lake City-based company’s work in the community.
“Every cup of coffee in the stadium, every bag of Cowboys coffee sold, represents a step in fulfilling the Black Rifle mission – another veteran employed, another first-responder receiving support, or another community event to help adaptive military athletes thrive in the civilian world,” Jones said. “We support military members and first responders year-round.”
Black Rifle, which sells its coffee in 49 locations in Texas, has been popular amongst conservatives and gun-rights advocates.
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Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, took to Twitter to voice her anger over the Cowboys’ decision.
“Are you [expletive] kidding Dallas Cowboys?” she tweeted. “One month after 19 children and two educators were slaughtered in a Texas elementary school by a teen with an AR-15 you’re partnering with the racist, xenophobic coffee brand created by gun extremists?”
Following the May 24 elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas in which 22 children and adults were shot and killed, the Cowboys donated $400,000 to support the victims and survivors.
The veteran-founded and operated business said on its website that it strives to help other service members successfully transition from the military into entrepreneurship and assists veterans seeking to launch their own businesses.
Black Rifle and the Cowboys couldn’t be reached for comment.
This isn’t Black Rifle’s first foray into professional sports. In 2017, the company announced a partnership with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. The company also partnered with the then-Washington Football Team, now the Commanders, in November 2021.
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“The goal is to move from doing everything online — creating brand awareness and building this partnership are all steps in the right direction,” Tom Davin, BRCC co-CEO, said in a press release.
After a 2021 New York Times profile on the company, Black Rifle received criticism for its political views.
Black Rifle Coffee, which considers itself as a "pro-constitution, pro-individuality" company, had attempted to distance itself from some of the more extreme, right-wing supporters of the brand, while also being the target of a great deal of criticism, which the company sees as unfair.
"These aren't our customers," founder and CEO Evan Hafer told Military.com about the criticism the company faced a year ago. "These are people that are making very illogical, irrational statements about the company that are misleading,"
Of course, some people think the latest social media storm in a coffee cup will blow over once people look beyond the names.
“I feel a bunch of you people just read the name of the coffee and got mad over the name of it and don’t even know anything about the brand!” one person tweeted. “It’s a veteran-owned company.”