Spandex-Clad Robertson Rollerblader’s T-Shirt Line Draws Ire

Kudos to the Wall Street Journal for profiling an atypical celebrity of sorts this morning: John Wesley Jermyn, better known as “The Crazy Robertson” or “The Robertson Dancer” to locals. Jermyn, onetime draft choice for the Kansas City Royals and a fixture for decades on the southern tip of the celebrity-drizzled slice of Robertson, has over the course of two decades made a name for himself by doing one thing and doing it better than anybody else: dancing on rollerblades in riotous sheer spandex outfits. Now that a local promotional trio has obtained his signed blessing, created his myspace presence and sold out his T-shirt likeness in boutiques such as Kitson, ready the ethical protest from family and homeless activists:

Mr. Jermyn’s slide into homelessness is a painful subject for his sister Beverly. And so is the clothing deal. She believes “The Crazy Robertson” founders are exploiting her brother’s condition to build their brand. “I think these guys saw an opportunity and they took it,” she says. “I am not happy with the arrangement.”

Ms. Jermyn, who lives close to the alley where Mr. Jermyn sleeps, says her brother has a form of schizophrenia. He refuses to take medication, she says, despite suffering from fits of shouting and cursing. In the years since his condition began deteriorating in the late 1970s, “he slipped through my fingers like sand,” says Ms. Jermyn, 64, who manages facilities for Oracle Corp.

No matter which side of the ethical fence you fall regarding the Homeless, Spandex-Clad Robertson Blvd Dancing Rollerblader brand the kids are buying these days (exploitative? opportunistic?), we must all come to consensus on one point at the dinner table: John Wesley Jermyn’s spandex-clad rollerdancing prowess knows no equal.

• In West L.A., A Homeless Man Inspires New Brand [WSJ]