WASHINGTON — If you saw University of Maryland shirts at Wal-Mart that seemed a bit odd, there’s a good explanation — the shirts mistook Massachusetts for Maryland. Until Monday, customers could buy shirts that featured the word “Terps” over a not-terribly-accurate outline of Massachusetts. The mess-up was first spotted on Twitter last year by a University of Maryland student.
Someone please tell me why Walmart has a shirt that says “terps” in the outline of the state of Massachusetts pic.twitter.com/TQRfvdqbE9
— Victoria Owens (@Victoria_Owens8) July 13, 2015
More recently, another Twitterer included visual aids to point out Wal-Mart’s error, but the company’s tweet suggested the shirts were supposed to be that way.
Dear @Walmart I want to inform you that you’re selling UMD shirts with the state of Massachusetts on them. pic.twitter.com/RjzK4CdOHH
— Samantha Ficco (@Samficco) March 30, 2016 Wal-Mart’s initial Twitter responses attempted to explain.
@Samficco The state of Maryland is shaped to dip down on the right hand side which includes the word “Terps” for the team. -Marie
— Walmart (@Walmart) March 31, 2016
@Samficco On the map, MA and MD are shaped somewhat similarly with the exception of that dip. Thanks for reaching out, Samantha! -Marie — Walmart (@Walmart) March 31, 2016
Finally, on Monday another Wal-Mart employee tweeted an apology and said the shirts were being removed from stores.
@Samficco We’re so embarrassed we may never stick our head out of our shell again! Thanks for guiding this lost Terrapin back to MD! -Sonny — Walmart (@Walmart) April 4, 2016
In a statement to The Washington Post, Wal-Mart wrote, “We are working with Russell Athletic to determine how this happened and in the meantime are removing the shirt from our stores. We understand the pride Marylanders feel for the Terps, and apologize for the mistake.”