"That certainly isn't sportsmanlike," the email read, in part. "In fact, Yeti should be ashamed. They have declined to continue helping America's young people enjoy outdoor recreational activities. These activities enable them to appreciate America and enjoy our natural resources with wholesome and healthy outdoor recreational and educational programs."
The statement prompted a lot of backlash from Yeti owners who support the NRA.
Later Monday, Yeti released a statement saying that the NRA's claims are "inaccurate" and that the company is "unwavering in our belief in and commitment to the Constitution of the United States and its Second Amendment."
That didn’t stop people from destroying their Yeti products in protest, however.
Dubbed the #YetiCoolerChallenge, the earliest video we could find on YouTube was shared on April 22, and it features a Yeti tumbler being crushed in a vise.
Other videos included creative means of Yeti destruction like filling up a cooler with tannerite and shooting it with a rifle, or just shooting a tumbler with a revolver:
As expected, folks on Twitter had all sorts of opinions:
Let me get this straight: #yeticoolerchallenge = fill $500 cooler with $20 of tannerite. Blow up cooler. Outcome: @Yeti keeps $500, @NRA foundation receives no benefit, and you are left with no cooler and a huge mess to clean up... seems reasonable.
— Jim Richman (@JCSBLOGGER34) April 23, 2018
#YetiCoolerChallenge is going to keep me entertained all day and night long. This is legit the greatest thing to happen to me on a duty day.
— Lil Unicorn da St. Cloud (@HeelStCloud) April 23, 2018
To give you an idea of what's in one of those coolers, by the way, here's a YouTube video from "What's Inside?" where they cut a Yeti cooler in half:
About the Author