A tasteless smartphone game called “Angry Trayvon” has been removed from app stores following public outcry and a petition protesting the offensive app.
The game was released in December 2012—ten months after the real Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Plus, the character’s hooded sweatshirt matches the garment Mr. Martin was wearing when he was shot.
The game stars a hoodie-wearing, knife-wielding, shadowy-faced protagonist fighting villains on the streets of various cities. According to the video, players could “Fight in historic cities like Brooklyn, NY,” “Collect money and wallets to increase their score” and “Eliminate the bad guys with flying daggers.” It was previously available for download in both the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
As of yesterday, Apple had removed the game from its app store, but Google Play had not, prompting a North Carolinian named T.L. Rowe to start a petition on change.org. Addressed to Google and Google Play, the petition read:
This application unnecessarily promotes violence and exploits the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin. I am sure his parents not appreciate the image of their son as a gun toting vigilante. The death of this young man is NOT A GAME. This developer is using the Google Marketplace to exploit the death of an unarmed teen for profit while simultaneously promoting violence. Given the racial and social climate surrounding this issue and the unfair depiction of a deceased minor who perished as a result of gun violence, we are asking that this application be moved from the Google Play marketplace immediately.
