Hayabusa responds to 'Rising Sun' gi controversy, UFC 158's Georges St. Pierre apologizes

When Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight contender Chan Sung Jung compared UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre's use of Japan's "Rising Sun" logo on his walkout gi to Nazi Germany, it came as no surprise that the company who sponsored GSP would be forced to respond.

Hayabusa posted a statement earlier today on its Facebook page, apologizing for the slight and promising not to promote the graphic.

Since Georges St-Pierre wore our walkout gi at UFC 158 we have received attention surrounding the negative connotation of the rising sun graphic used. The last thing we want is to offend or alienate anyone with the choice of design on our products.

We at Hayabusa have the utmost respect for culture and history and appreciate all of our customers worldwide. As such, we accept full responsibility for this design and are taking all complaints and comments very seriously.

The gi worn by GSP will not be brought to market. In addition, we will be very conscious of this specific design element when developing future communication materials and products.

Please accept our sincerest apology for any offence this has caused. If you have any questions or comments regarding this matter, please feel free to discuss it with us at customerservice@hayabusafightwear.com. One of our representatives will be happy to assist you.

Sincerely,

Craig Clement
Co-President
Hayabusa Fightwear Inc.

Even St. Pierre himself (or one of his pamperers) posted a statement on Facebook, admitting that it was never his intention to offend anyone.

I'd like to also personally apologize to anyone who was offended by this. I am very sorry, that was never my intention.

Hopefully, this puts the controversy to bed. It seems that both offending parties came by the mistake honestly and have done the right things to rectify the situation.

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