Dick’s Sporting Goods tries to make a buck from Sandy sympathy

Dick’s Sporting Goods is making a major push to attract runners into their stores, and as such bought ads in the current issues of Runner’s World and Running Times featuring the following quote by Tara Chaney: “I run for the Jersey Shore. I run for the boardwalk, the beaches, the cool sea breezes. I run for the sun shining and the sand between my toes. Hurricane Sandy may have damaged this great natural landscape, but she will never destroy my love for the shore. I patiently await the day I can run “home sweet home.”

A few problems with this. First, the shore is open. So open, in fact, that there’s a marathon there this weekend.

Second, if you’re going to support the Jersey Shore post-Sandy, then you’re going to buy your running gear at a local running store, like the Sneaker Shop in Ocean City, not some big box chain. 

This ad isn’t supporting N.J. It’s making a profit off a disaster by taking dollars out of the pockets of local business owners who need our support now more than ever.

And that’s despicable.