PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Some people aren’t big fans of the new “city edition” jersey the 76ers released this year, and now the president of the team is getting criticized for comments he made while defending the design.
In an interview with Uni Watch, a blog dedicated to sports uniforms, Sixers President Chris Heck said designing them is extremely important to him. While talking about the new black uniform, which features line art of Boathouse Row, he said it blends the old with the new. Then things took a turn.
He said he doesn’t like the nickname “Philly,” because it “undersells the city.” He said he feels the same way about identiftying the city as “blue collar.”
He added, “New Philadelphia is about the arts. It’s about culture. It’s about education. It’s about diversity. We like that narrative more than the blue collar hockey thing.”
SportsRadio 94WIP host Howard Eskin jumped all over the comments on the air Thursday.
“This guy is so out of touch with the people here. He’s so out of touch with his fan base,” he said.
After the backlash, Heck went on Twitter and said he missed the mark and that he loves the city and believes it has the best fans in sports