Jihadi John is one of the most well known ISIS militants. He's the masked man that has become the face of the Islamic State through a number of videos released by the terrorist organization. An old photo of the alleged British man was released earlier this week.
And the Pittsburgh Pirates are not happy about it.
Sky News tweeted an old picture of Mohammed Emwazi, otherwise known as Jihadi John, wearing a hat with the famed Pirates "P" logo.
Sky News can show the first known photo of Mohammed Emwazi (known as Jihadi John) as an adult https://t.co/z9uwfpXO5X pic.twitter.com/tJVS2dOCAA
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 27, 2015
Emwazi has beheaded several hostages that ISIS has captured over the course of the past seven months, according to reports. The Pirates released a statement on Friday regarding the photo.
"The classic gold P stands for Pittsburgh and is worn by our players, coaches and fans with a great sense of pride," the team said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It is absolutely sickening to everyone within the Pirates organization, and to our great fans, to see this murderer wearing a Pirates cap in this old photo."
The Associated Press has yet to confirm the photo, but those who claim to have known Emwazi believe that he is indeed Jihadi John. It's no surprise the Pirates are angered about the fact that the face of ISIS was previously pictured wearing a hat that represents their organization. However, being that Emwazi is from West London, it's not too likely he had a strong allegiance to the Pirates.
"My father-in-law is a captain in California," Pirates' outfielder Corey Hart told ESPN. "A lot of the gangs use different hats for different reasons. It could mean something to them, but it's definitely not affiliated with us. ... It's disgusting that those guys try to use our stuff in different ways, but that's what our armed forces are for, and hopefully they take care of it."
The Pirates merely want to protect their image, as well as the game of baseball, which is America's pastime.
