Sometimes you wonder why every company doesn’t have someone in charge of monitoring everything that goes out under their name, or how things like this slip through the cracks.
Today is the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, the tragedy that shocked the world and resulted in 2,996 lives being extinguished senselessly and far too soon. Everyone remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when it happened, and as the adage that is generally paired with the infamous date goes, the world will never forget the heartbreaking day.
It’s always reassuring to see everyone come together on this day and remember and respect the lives that were lost on September 11th, 2001. You’ll surely see many organizations, sports teams, and pretty much anyone and everyone else put out a message to recognize the date and honor the many heroes that lost their lives.
Then you’ll have a couple of companies completely miss the mark, like DraftKings did with an absolutely horrible idea to include a “9/11 themed” featured parlay on their sports book this morning. As you can see below, DraftKings had a company-created parlay for fans to quickly throw money on, and it was titled “Never Forget.”
Below the title that they gave it, it said:
“Bet these New York teams to win tonight on 9/11.”
The parlay featured the New York Mets and New York Yankees to win, along with the New York Jets (who play in New Jersey) taking down the Buffalo Bills (who are also located in the state of New York). I guess you can see where you are going for, but it still obviously a bad move by the betting brand.
The below post describes the mistake as:
After getting obliterated on social media for the parlay, DraftKings removed the “Never Forget” bet from their app and issued a statement letting everyone know that they were sorry for overlooking the mistake:
“We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11.
We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the families of those who were directly affected.”
At least they’ve seemed to backtrack and apologize about the whole thing, though this should have never happened in the first place. As I mentioned earlier, someone at the company has to see that and say “you know, maybe that wouldn’t go over well.”
And it certainly has not, because social media hasn’t been shy in letting DraftKings know how they’ve felt about the “Never Forget” parlay:
No, you do not respect the significance of the day, nor do you respect the human beings who bet on sports with you
— The Commish (@CommishFilmRoom) September 11, 2023
We just want to know why someone thought this was a good idea to begin with
— Evan Cheney (@Echeney69) September 11, 2023
— 1312 Kill Your Masters Street (@TroelleEmbiid) September 11, 2023
Beyond unacceptable
— Matt Lo (@holla2mlo) September 11, 2023
You put more effort into the parlay than you did into this “apology”
— Will Applebee (@NOTSCWill) September 11, 2023
