This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Updated: 3:28 PM- The manufacturer behind a monkey sock puppet named for presidential candidate Barack Obama said it will not make the toy, which many had called racist.

A West Jordan company, The Sock Obama, contracted with Binkley Toy's, Inc., a custom-toy manufacturer with offices in New York and Ontario, Canada, to mass produce the doll. In a statement on Binkley's Web site, owner Rob Bishop -- who is not related to Utah's Congressman Rob Bishop -- apologized. He said that before the public's outcry of racism, he and his staff did not see any racist connection.

"Binkley Toys Inc. will not be proceeding with manufacturing the Sock Obama toy. My company is not just about 'dollars' and Binkley Toys Inc. prides itself on its social responsibility," the statement said.

Binkley had manufactured only a prototype of the doll.

"Through the past couple of days, I was hoping to find the 'mistake' my company made and I believe the only mistake would have been to keep going. There was no ill will or negative intent in helping to design this toy," the statement said.

"To proceed in to manufacturing this toy and to cause harm would have been the error. I personally apologize to anyone who found this toy idea offensive and I am sorry I did not make the negative connection myself."

On the West Jordan-based Sock Obama Web site, the company put out a statement titled "an apology."

"We are very apologetic to all who were upset by our toy idea. We will not be proceeding with the manufacturing of this toy," it said.

Many Utahns were outraged over the toy.

Jeanetta Williams, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has called the toy "pure racism at its extreme."

Charles Henderson, a black Democrat in Kearns running for the House of Representatives, said the doll "blows me away."

"Here we are in 2008 and some people still haven't gotten it," he said.

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