'Second Base' Breast Cancer Campaign Cut Short

Oct. 19, 2007— -- A T-shirt promotion by two teenage girls in Kansas who were eager to raise awareness about breast cancer, unexpectedly earned the pair a lesson in decency and trademark law.

Haley Wenthe and Jessica Sheahon, seniors at Salina Central High School, set out to raise $10,000 to fight breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Haley's mother had died of the disease five years ago, and Sheahon's mom recently completed chemotherapy. They started raising funds by selling bracelets, temporary tattoos and beads.

Then the girls decided to have T-shirts printed with the slogan "Save 2nd Base," a reference to the slang term for a woman's breasts. The front of the shirt shows a pair of baseballs over the chest above the slogan. The back features an image of a breast cancer awareness ribbon.

But the noble idea brought the girls double trouble, from school officials who said the T-shirts were in bad taste, and from another breast cancer awareness group, which said the T-shirt design had been taken from the group without permission.

The original second-base T-shirt appeared in 2005 at a Philadelphia breast cancer walk. It was designed by Kelly Rooney to celebrate a team of walkers participating in a 60-mile trek to raise money for breast cancer. At the time Rooney, a 42-year-old mother of five, was in the final stage of breast cancer. The T-shirt, and its edgy approach to what some consider a taboo topic, took off.

Rooney has since died, but a foundation was established to commemorate her fight against the disease. As part of that effort, Rooney's sister, Erin Dugery, and a friend, obtained a trademark for the shirt, which they market on the Web site www.save2ndbase.com. Dugery did not know how many shirts had been sold or given away but told ABC News that they are very popular.

For Haley Wenthe and Jessica Sheahon, that's where the marketing lesson came in -- the two girls never sought permission for use of the patented design, Dugery said. "They're teenage girls who meant well," said Dugery, adding that they contacted the girls to protect the "brand." "I would appreciate it if they didn't sell the shirts anymore," she said. While Dugery is not filing any lawsuit, she is talking to the girls about a relationship in which the Kelly Rooney Foundation might benefit from the shirt proceeds, Durgery said.