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Dick’s Sporting Goods To Pull Hunting Gear From Hundreds Of Stores

Dick’s Sporting Goods has just announced that they will be removing hunting gear from “approximately” 440 locations one year after they launched a similar, albeit smaller, effort to do this.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Removes Hunting Gear

Fox News reported that the company released a statement along with their fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday saying that they will be removing their hunting departments sometime “in fiscal 2020,” though they did not say exactly when. The sports retailer also did not reveal which specific stores will be impacted by this.

This move comes one year after Dick’s Sporting Goods removed hunting gear from 125 of their stores. In the wake of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, the company also stopped selling assault weapons. They also raised the minimum age requirement to buy a gun to 21.

Following this last announcement, gun and ammunition manufacturers like O.F. Mossberg and Sons, Inc., and MKS Supply announced that they would not be doing business with Dick’s any longer.

Chairman And CEO Speaks Out

Despite receiving some backlash from pro-gun folks, Dick’s chairman and CEO said in his statement that sales are good, claiming “strong fourth quarter results” in the latest earnings report, as well as “growth across each of our three primary categories of hardlines, apparel and footwear.”

“During 2019, we made meaningful changes across our business, which fueled our strongest annual comp sales gain since 2012 and a 14-percent increase in non-GAAP earnings per diluted share over 2018,” Dick’s chairman and CEO Edward W. Stack said. “I’d like to thank all our teammates for their hard work and commitment to DICK’S Sporting Goods, which made this performance possible.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods Faces Public Backlash

Social media users, however, were not so kind to Dick’s in the wake of this announcement.

“I like how they say they have increased revenue in other area’s,” one social media user commented. “Fact is, you took a big dump on the Hunter’s in this country and they no longer buy hunting gear of any kind from you. Which means your Hunting departments are ghost towns. Just tell the truth.”

“Never shopped here anyways,” another added. “Still plenty of other places that I can spend my money at to purchase my hunting, fishing, and fur trapping equipment. This will in no way deter me from continuing to go hunting, fishing, and fur trapping every year either.”

It’s sad to see Dick’s continue to make submitting to the politically correct left a priority. Once upon a time, the sports giant was an all-American brand that could be counted on by red-blooded hunters everywhere.

Catering to the PC-obsessed left may seem like a good idea right now. But Dick’s may learn a hard lesson in the long run. Leftists are never truly satisfied. And so if you give them an inch, they’ll take the whole yard. Which is why it’s best not to give in to them at all.

James Conrad

James Conrad’s passion for politics is only overshadowed by his longstanding interest in Hollywood. His unique perspective as a gay conservative fuels him to challenge celebrity views and those who think they have a right to tell anyone how to think or vote. James proudly wields his minority point of view to combat identity politics and cut through his typecast. Fun fact: James’ guilty pleasure is the British royal family.