Baltimore Ravens Nix Game Day Promotion to Give Away DNA Test Kits

The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens postponed a potential legal nightmare by at least temporarily stopping a promotion to provide fans with DNA testing kits during the team’s home opener at M&T Bank Stadium.

A “DNA Day” promotion in partnership with the biotech company Orig3n was touted as offering fans an opportunity to get an insight into their genetic makeup. On September 13, tweets surfaced featuring the promotional kits containing the slogan, “Purple and black are in your genes—now find out what else is.”

If the prospect of giving a cheek swab to a biotech company and then registering a barcode along with your name and email sounds like the type of activity Goodie Mob predicted on “Cell Therapy,” Maryland officials agree with you. The promotion has been put on hold to address questions from state authorities.

“We received an overwhelmingly positive response to the first-ever DNA Day, and we remain committed to our mission,” Orig3n said in a written statement. “Since 2014, we have been helping people understand the links between their genes and how their minds and bodies work through our DNA tests and community events. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Ravens.”

That would be the same Ravens organization whose owner copped to taking personnel advice on signing Colin Kaepernick from retired linebacker Ray Lewis. After the Ravens passed on Kaepernick, Lewis claimed the decision was made due to Kaepernick’s girlfriend and radio personality Nessa “NessNitty” Diab tweeting a picture comparing Lewis and Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti to Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters Calvin Candle and Stephen from the movie Django Unchained. In the 2012 drama, Candle was a slave-holding plantation owner, and Stephen was his dutiful, house slave.

Perhaps the Ravens should stick to something more along the lines of bobblehead promotions.