As railbirds watched the World Series of Poker Monster Stack event play out on Monday, focus soon turned to the supporters of final table member Sean Drake, who arrived wearing matching t-shirts with a slogan that many found highly offensive (pictured).

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Poker writer James Guill was one of the first to call attention to the shirts on Twitter. “Just my opinion, but ‘Play like Drake and Rape‘ doesn’t count as appropriate attire,” he said.

Others, like industry writer Jennifer Newell, were quick to voice their disgust at the phrase. “They should be ejected immediately for inappropriate attire,” she Tweeted.

The flurry of posts seems to have spurred Drake’s sponsor, 2Pair Poker, to ask his boisterous fans to take off the shirts, which they soon did.

Drake responded on his own Twitter account, saying that he had nothing to do with the decision to wear the clothing and that his attention was completely focused on the tournament. “I had a few friends who though it would be funny to bring [the slogan]back; they quickly found out that it was the wrong thing to do,” he said. “No excuses. I honestly didn’t even see the shirts ’til after all the commotion was done. I was too zoned in to notice anything.”

But Drake’s explanations didn’t placate some, who found the decision to wear the shirts to be extremely distasteful. “Memo to @DaBabyDrake, whose followers wear #playlikeDrakeandRape tshirts: rape isn’t a fun slogan, it’s something women fear every day,” said poker journalist Chris Hall.

The first use of that hashtag goes back to 2012, with Drake and a few supporters adding it to poker-related posts.

Newell continued, outraged at the slogan and questioning 2Pair Poker’s judgment for backing Drake. The sponsor soon responded, saying, “We stand by Mr. Sean Drake 100%. @DaBabyDrake is a professional through and through. He is a caring and great person.”

2Pair further defended Drake(pictured), reasoning that the slogan was only meant to be understood in the context of poker competition. Newell, however, disagreed: “You used the word rape as something positive and it’s the opposite; it’s offensive & horrible.”

In the end, Drake took third in the tournament for $619,521, losing out to Joseph McKeehen and first-place finisher Hugo Pinray. What followed was a Twitter squabble between Newell and Drake where the two traded barbs, many of which were later deleted by the poker pro.

“When I was a kid, I was taught this, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ Read the sentence not the word,” read one of the pro’s Tweets.

“I think @DaBabyDrake is about to become an infamous poker player with zero marketability,” chimed in the Washington iPoker Initiative during the spat. “Keep digging that hole, @DaBabyDrake. You could’ve fixed this, but not anymore. #SeeYa,” added Newell.

The following day, it seemed that Newell and Drake had made amends, with the poker writer Tweeting that she “received what seems to be a heartfelt apology from @DaBabyDrake. Says he hasn’t used ‘rape’ w/ poker in long time. Friends did shirts on own.”

Drake apologized again on his own feed and hoped to put the whole incident past him. “I was drunk last night and was not happy at all with all the personal attacks. I apologize for the tweets and attacks I made,” he said. “So sorry again and here’s to hopefully better things in the future for us,” he added.

The Monster Stack prize is now the poker pro’s all-time best cash, with his total live tournament winnings reaching $800,000. Drake now seems to be looking onto the Main Event, where he Tweeted his intention to sell 30% of himself.

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Lead image courtesy NevadaPokerReviews