Nike and the NFL had the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills wear bright, unicolor jerseys during Thursday Night Football this week, as part of a promotion called "Color Rush" that involves alternate uniforms worn one day a week.
It looked like your typical half-hearted marketing stunt -- until a big problem arose. The Jets were outfitted in all green, while the Bills were decked out in all red. Soon after the game started, a small army of people with red-green colorblindness took to Twitter complaining that they could not at all tell the two teams apart.
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These are the unis the Jets and Bills wore Thursday night.
Nike will break out "Color Rush" uniforms on Thursday Night Football. Starts next week w/Jets vs Bills pic.twitter.com/zE8Lk7FktJ— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2015
Here's a screengrab of a play during the game, according to a simulation run by Deadspin of what it looked like to fans with red-green colorblindness.
You'll quickly notice that it appears impossible to tell the two teams apart. According to the National Eye Institute, red-green colorblindness is the most common form of the affliction, effecting up to "8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women with Northern European ancestry."
Now here are a bunch of NFL fans with red-green colorblindess who were royally ticked off that they couldn't really watch Thursday night's game.
Thanks to these stupid uniforms & my red-green color blindness, I literally can't tell the #Jets & #Bills apart tonight— Matthew Cerrone (@matthewcerrone) November 13, 2015
If you are colorblind like me this @NFL game is going to be hard to follow. @buffalobills vs @nyjets— Lawrence Tynes (@lt4kicks) November 13, 2015
The #NFL did me dirty. I'm color blind and can't see red / green. Everyone looks like they're on the same team smh. #JetsVsBills— JBP (@JBP2586) November 13, 2015
Hey @nyjets & @buffalobills, you have any idea what % of your audience is red/green colorblind? Please look it up & think next time. #stupid— Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) November 13, 2015
YO @NFL for those of us who are red/green #colorblind, the @nyjets and @buffalobills uniforms tonight look identical. #comeon— Eamon Flood (@EamonFlood) November 13, 2015
To the NFL and Nike: Good job, good effort and better luck next time.