Thug Chips controversy

New York councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) is angry at the new food and beverage company O.G. Nation because, he claims, their marketing of products like "Thug Chips" and "Atomic Dogg" energy drinks is "enticing young people into thug life." O.G. Nation, founded by athletic stars Larry Johnson and Jim Brown, responded with a press release claiming that Comrie's remarks are racist. Unfortunately, Thug Chips are not longer listed on the O.G. Nation site. From The Grinder:

Comrie has been crusading against the marketing of gang paraphernalia. But he may have overstepped a bit when discussing food and beverage maker OG Nation, which is headed by ex-athletes Jim Brown and Larry Johnson: “It’s even more insidious because these are people that work directly with gangs … enticing people into thug life and gang life. It makes no sense to me,” the lawmaker told The Post.



Jim Brown actually does have a history of working with inner-city youth, but not recruiting them into gangs. Comrie clarified his remarks on a New York Times City Room blog post. He acknowledged Brown’s philanthropic work, but questioned why “he would consider flooding our community with garbage..”

Link (Thanks, Carlo Longino!)

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