Save The Boobs

Did you hear about the 2 girls who were told they couldn't wear or sale Breast Cancer Awareness shirts at the school the girls attended? I was totally shocked by this, and no matter how you feel about the slogan the girls decided to use, I think they should be allowed to raise the money for Breast Cancer Awareness.

The story is that these 2 girls, Haley Wenthe and Jessica Sheahon wanted to raise $10,000 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Haley lost her mother to breast cancer 5 years ago, and Jessica's mom is battling the disease. The two girls were selling bracelets, beads, and temporary tattoos to raise money, but they decided to step it up a notch by having t-shirts printed that they could sell for the cause. What was the slogan? "Save 2nd Base." The girls decided to use the term because it's a slang teenagers often use to refer to boobs, but on the back they printed a breast cancer awareness ribbon.

Unfortunately not only did the school officials decide the girls couldn't wear or sell the shirts because it was considered "bad taste", but another breast cancer awareness group trademarked a shirt with the same slogan that was originally designed by Kelly Rooney, a woman who lost her battle with breast cancer after designing the t-shirt. The girls were contacted by a woman with the foundation that owns the trademark for the shirts asking them to stop selling the shirts due to copyright laws. The foundation would have probably never have found out about the shirts the girls had printed, and the girls would have never known they were committing copyright infringement if it hadn't been for the school.

The girls had 900 shirts printed with plans of selling them at a Friday night football game. Even though the vice principal of the high school is a cancer survivor and supports the girls' campaign, he told them they had "gone too far" because the shirts contained a reference to a sexual statement. I honestly think this is total BS. I have seen the original "Save 2nd Base" shirts, and I want one! I think this is a great way to tune the younger generations into what's going on and a great way to get them involved in raising money for breast cancer awareness. After the girls were banned from selling the shirts at school more people started buying them because they didn't believe the ban was fair. Unfortunately the girls can no longer sell the shirts because of the copyright infringement, but the foundation that owns the copyright is working with the girls to find a solution to help them raise money with sales of the original shirt design.

I do think it is fair for the two girls to learn a lesson in copyright infringement, but I do believe this is a special case. If the money is going to the same place, I think the foundation should allow the girls to sell the original 900 shirts they had printed. I also understand the school's point of view, but I think the girls should have been allowed to sell the t-shirts for such a cause.

What do you think about all of this? Should they have been allowed to sell the shirts...whether it be the ones they had printed or ones approved by the foundation holding the copyright?