As a statement of sports fandom, the hat is one of the most essential pieces of style. When you put on thesnapbackorfittedof your favorite team, you're repping that team, and that team only. But for gang members, the hat they put on represents their set—the franchise logo on the crown of the hat is has nothing to do with sports. Whether it's the logo or the color scheme, gangs all over the United States have claimed your favorite sports team's hat as a way to show off who they ride with. With that said, check outthe10 Most Gang-Affiliated Hats in Sports Today.
FREE DOWNLOAD | GANG ADOPTED SPORT AND COMMERCIAL LOGOS
| SEATTLE MARINERS Why:The Rollin' 60's Crip set prefers the Mariners shade of blue, as well as the "S" (for sixty) logo. |
| OAKLAND A's Why:The Athletics' "A" represents Ambrose and Albany, while the team's green matches the Spanish Cobras' colors. |
| GEORGETOWN HOYAS Why:"Hoyas," acting as an acronym for "Hoover's On Your Ass," pays homage to Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover. Hoover also organized the all-encompassing Folk Nation, which includes the Black Disciples, among other Chicago-area gangs. |
| MINNESOTA TWINS Why: The "M" logo stands for "Maniac" and "Mafia" for these two gangs. |
| SAN FRANCISCO 49ers Why:The 49ers' red and gold is representative of northern California's Norteños. The interlocking "SF" logo is supposed to disrespect rival southern gangs, as the Norteños commonly refer to them as "scraps" or "sewer rats." The "SF" also stands for Chicago's "Stoned Freaks." |
| PITTSBURGH PIRATES Why:Black and gold Yankee hats used to be a staple among the Latin Kings but recently thePittsburgh Pirate fitted has become more prominent. The "P" logo makes an obvious match for L.A.'s Piru Bloods. |
| HOUSTON ASTROS Why:People Nation reps the Astros because of the team's five-star pointed logo—a star which also symbolizes the gang. Rival Folk Nation (their main symbol is the Star of David, which has six points) also takes to the Astros' logo, because the star is broken, which is a dig at People Nation. Thankfully for these gangs, New Era makes different colorways of the hat—Folk Nation takes to the blue hued iterations, eschewing any confusion over who's who. The Hoover Criminals have adopted the retro version of the hat, which features a distinctive and Hoover-worthy "H" in Old Western typeface. Puro Tango Blast naturally takes to the hat because of the hometown Houston affiliation, and the modern scarlet colored Astros hat plays into the Bloods' red colors. |
| CHICAGO BULLS Why:Peace Stone Nation and the Bloods got creative with their acronym game here, with "Bulls" standing for "Boy U Look Like Stone," and "Bloods Usually Live Life Strong/Smart." Mickey Cobras, People Nation, and the Vice Lords all endorse the red and black color scheme of the Bulls. |
| CINCINNATI REDS Why:Despitepopular thinking, the Bloods' usage of the Reds hat isn't that widespread. Popularized by Lil Wayne and his Bloods' sympathies (he raps "I'm a grown ass Blood, stop playin with me" on "It's Good"), and also The Game (who's from L.A.), the hat became a universal identifier of the Bloods, but that wasn't necessarily the case in practice. In reality, the Reds hat and the "C" logo is limited to the L.A.'s Cedar Block Piru set of Bloods. |
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Adopted by:The Crips (L.A.), Sureños (Southern California), Latin Aspects (nationwide), Gangster Disicples (Chicago)
Why:The Crips and Sureños are all about Dodger blue. The interlocking "LA" makes the hat the perfect choice for Latin Aspects, and the Dodger "D" emblazoned version of the hat makes it a Gangster Disicples selection.
| LOS ANGELES DODGERS Why:The Crips and Sureños are all about Dodger blue. The interlocking "LA" makes the hat the perfect choice for Latin Aspects, and the Dodger "D" emblazoned version of the hat makes it a Gangster Disicples selection. |
Disclaimer: It should be noted that the sporting teams and corporations represented in this list as well as the included download are not considered affiliated or has anything to do with the criminal street gangs that use their logos in association with a criminal street gang. These gangs have simply adopted them to represent their gang. It should also be noted that the sporting of clothing does not always signify gang affiliation. This list was compiled to make the reader aware of possible gang involvement. It should also be noted that street gangs have become aware of the fact that law enforcement uses the wearing of colors as an indicator of gang involvement and may adjust their dress accordingly such as not wearing these items to and from a destination such as a gang meeting but change into them upon arrival and removing them upon leaving so that law enforcement is not alerted by the attire.
