The University of Kansas has sent a firm cease-and-desist order to a Twitter fan page called @KUboobs, which is dedicated to collecting photos of (mostly) women flaunting their cleavage in low-cut KU shirts.
“Join the boobment!” the introductory text of @KUboobs announces. “We wear crimson & blue PROUDLY across our chests for the whole world to see. Not affiliated with The University of Kansas.”
The page currently boasts close to 60,000 Twitter followers. It also has its own line of merchandise including wristbands and perhaps some other paraphernalia bearing the letters “KU.”
The scope of the cease-and-desist order is an unsettled question, reports the Daily Mail.
KU Boobs took to Twitter on Monday with a tweet saying: “KU Boobs has been ordered to cease and desist by The University of Kansas by June 12, 2013.”
The next tweet — also on Monday — was an urgent call for more self-shot boob images: “If you have ever wanted to submit a #kuboobs pic and never have, this is your last chance! #SaveKUboobs”
The hashtag #SaveKUboobs almost immediately became the rallying cry for the page and its multitude of followers.
The cease-and-desist letter itself uses sweeping language and furious legalese. Nevertheless, school officials insist that the University of Kansas has no problem with @KUboobs. They say the school merely wants the page to stop hawking and selling KU-branded merchandise for legitimate copyright reasons.
“You may have seen a tweet from @KUboobs saying that ‘KU has ordered KUBoobs to cease and desist.’ That tweet is not accurate,” tweeted Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director at the school.
“We’ve asked them to stop selling that merchandise, not to shut down the Twitter account. Rock Chalk!” Marchiony added in another tweet.
“Rock Chalk” is part of a famous chant used incessantly at University of Kansas Jayhawks sporting events. The whole chant is made up of the phrase “Rock chalk, Jayhawk, KU” repeated five times.
The Twitter phenomenon that is @KUboobs was spawned on a seemingly dark day — for Kansas fans — in February 2012 when the legendary Jayhawks men’s basketball team was losing to arch-rival Missouri by nearly 20 points.
Plucky KU fan Tiffany Kent — Twitter handle: @mommyloveswine — responded to the crisis by tweeting a picture of her breasts in a snug KU-emblazoned shirt during the game, explains the Daily Mail. She added the hashtag #kuboobs.
While it’s impossible to know if Kent’s breasts are, in fact, magical, the Jayhawks did come back to win by a single point. Thus was a Twitter phenomenon born.
There are at least 30 cleavage-laden imitators now including @UF_Boobs, @bamaboobs and @arboobs.
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