Patriot’s (or Patriots’) Day was celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine last Monday, April 17th, to commemorate the battles of Lexington and Concord, which were fought near Boston in 1775. And, as tradition would have it, the Boston Marathon was held on that state holiday – 2017 marked the 121st anniversary of the annual race.

On Tuesday, Adidas, which sponsored the event, emailed the following message to all 2017 Boston Marathon finishers:

"Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!"

However, the well-intentioned but entirely inappropriate email was attacked as insensitive because it related all too closely to the tragedy that took place in 2013, when 3 people were killed and more than 260 were injured in that year’s Boston Marathon bombing.

A spokesperson for Adidas apologized for the email:

"We are incredibly sorry. Clearly, there was no thought given to the insensitive email subject line we sent Tuesday."

 

"We deeply apologize for our mistake. The Boston Marathon is one of the most inspirational sporting events in the world. Every year we're reminded of the hope and resiliency of the running community at this event."