Washington Wizards unveil new "Baltimore Pride" jerseys

From 1963 up until the 1972-73 campaign, the current version of the Washington Wizards franchise was known as the Baltimore Bullets.

That came at a time when the city of Baltimore itself, much like the rest of the United States, was bogged down by societal warfare on the streets.

The Baltimore riot of 1968 — an incident that was precipitated by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. — came immediately before the Bullets decision to wear "Baltimore Pride" uniforms for five seasons.

According to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post, the Wizards are going back to these retro uniforms for six games this upcoming season. It's a show of solidarity with the city's LGBTQ community and the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore — founded 40 years ago this year.

As much as we love the idea of a franchise going back to its roots, these uniforms are ugly with all capitals (see what I did there?).

At a time when professional sports teams are attempting to find uniform alternatives — potentially as a way to increase their brand — some of these uniforms are simply horrendous looking.

At the very least, the Wizards aren't going back to these on a full-time basis. After all, we saw both the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks both release polarizing brand redesigns this summer.

We then have the little-known fact that the Wizards actually don't play in Baltimore anymore. This will lead some within the basketball world to wonder what exactly they are doing here.

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