Smartphone game featuring slain black teen name sparks public outrage

PanARMENIAN.Net - A smartphone game featuring the name of a slain teen drew outrage on social media networks within a matter of hours, resulting in a backlash that's questioned how the game was approved in the first place, Neowin says.

On Feb 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, sparking international media attention. Martin, just 17 at the time of his death, was killed after an altercation with Zimmerman, 29, who is currently being tried for the teen's murder. Zimmerman's attorneys claim their client acted in self defense, though state prosecutors say he knowingly murdered Martin, who was black, because of racial profiling.

Earlier this year, Android and iOS app developer Trade Digital released "Angry Trayvon," a game that depicts a hooded character on a "world tour of revenge on the bad guys who terrorize cities everyday [sic]." Despite the game's name, Trade Digital's Twitter account states that it "was not intended to portray any people in real life." The character's hooded sweatshirt, however, is reminiscent of the attire Martin was wearing at the time of his death.

The game was released for Android devices, and an iOS version was in the works as well, though it's not clear if the game was ever released through Apple's app store, Neowin says.

On Monday, July 8, a post on Tumblr garnered more than 1,400 responses within five hours, with the overwhelming majority of responses supporting an effort to get the app pulled. Several hundred tweets or retweets seeking the games removal were also posted on Twitter. The game's listing on the Google Play Store was quickly bombarded with hundreds of negative reviews following the social media campaigns; as of writing, the game has a score of 1.4 based on 714 reviews, 625 of which gave it the lowest possible score.

According to a post on the "Angry Trayvon" Facebook page, the game has been pulled from the Google Play Store, though a listing for the game states it is still available for download. In the post, the Trade Digital defended the game as a source of entertainment with no racial agenda.

"The people spoke out therefore this game was removed from the app stores," the post states. "Sorry for the inconvenience as this was just an action game for entertainment. This was by no means a racist game. Nonetheless, it was removed as will this page and anything associated with the game will be removed."