'#jackass' shirts raising money for Minneapolis cops' charities

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges meant it as a stinging rebuke when she called the police union head's comments about the Minnesota Lynx "jackass remarks." Now, it's a fashion statement — and a fundraiser.

T-shirts with a hashtag symbol and the word "jackass" are selling well, said Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis President Lt. Bob Kroll.

The dust-up began two weeks ago when several Lynx players wore warm up shirts before a game memorializing two black men killed by police (including Philando Castile, who was shot during a Falcon Heights traffic stop) as well as the Dallas police officers hurt and killed in an ambush. On the front, the shirts read: "Change starts with us" and "justice & accountability."

The four Minneapolis officers who were working the game in an off-duty capacity took offense to the T-shirts and walked out after speaking with Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve, said Kroll, who then derided the team for its "pathetic" fan attendance. That drew the scorn of Hodges who called Kroll's thoughts "jackass remarks."

The officers returned a week later to Lynx duty. Kroll has since walked back those remarks and called his "pathetic" comment a "horrible selection of words."

While there's still tension between Kroll and city leaders, the "jackass" comment is giving way to some wry humor from cops who want some good to come from the kerfuffle. Kroll told KARE 11 the shirts are being bought by union supporters as well as officers from other departments and are "raising a lot of money."