Rep. Ocasio-Cortez depicted as villain in video played by minor-league baseball team during Memorial Day tribute
The Fresno Grizzlies apologized to the New York congresswoman after a video tribute played between their doubleheader games linked her to Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro.
A Washington Nationals minor league lost a second major sponsorship Thursday, days after a Memorial Day tribute video showed an image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., between dictators Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro while former President Ronald Reagan spoke of the “enemies of freedom.”
Heineken USA announced it ended its partnership with the Fresno Grizzlies. The company owns the Dos Equis and Tecate beer brands which advertise at Chukchansi Park.
AOC MEMORIAL DAY VIDEO CONTROVERSY CAUSES MINOR LEAGUE TEAM TO LOSE SPONSORSHIP
“We are disheartened to learn of the views expressed in the video that aired during Monday's Fresno Grizzlies game, as they do not reflect our core values,” Dos Equis said in a statement. “We have ended our relationship with the team, effective immediately, and we have informed them accordingly.”
Tecate also released a statement on the issue: “Tecate has always been about togetherness and we do not support the views expressed in the video, that was aired during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Memorial day. We have ended this relationship effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision”
Heineken said in a separate statement it did not support “those views expressed in the video” and decided to cut ties with the Grizzlies.
Save Mart and the Fresno Bee were also listed as major sponsors at the ballpark. Neither company had made a decision whether to cut ties with the organization.
Jennifer Giglio, the vice president of the Nationals, told the Fresno Bee the organization would comment once the Grizzlies had completed their own investigation.
The video in question appeared to label Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as an enemy of freedom. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
“Based on their investigation, it is clear to us that this was an honest mistake by a long-time employee and was not politically motivated,” Giglio told the newspaper. “They have put processes in place to ensure it does not happen again and we are comfortable with those procedures.”
One fan told ABC 30 they were upset with the companies’ decision to pull the ads.
“I really believe this was an accident. People make mistakes and people should be forgiven,” Monica Flick told the station.
Wednesday, Sun-Maid announced it had ended its sponsorship with the Grizzlies.
The controversy stems from a three-minute video, called “Memorial Day Tribute – We Are Americans,” was filled with patriotic images and a speech from Reagan. At one point, the Reagan speaks of “enemies of freedom” and images of an Antifa member, Kim, Ocasio-Cortez and Castro appear.
Grizzlies, who play in the Pacific Coast League, apologized several times for airing the video – the latest coming Wednesday night.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The video was not produced, created or commissioned by the Fresno Grizzlies. It was carelessly taken from YouTube. There are multiple versions of this video available on the internet, the version that our employee selected contained offensive content,” the team said. “The airing of the video in the ballpark was the result of an unintentional oversight by an employee who did not view the video in its entirety. The employee responsible has been reprimanded by the organization.
“We understand the dangers and ramifications of what was shown. We have publicly apologized to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Regardless of your political viewpoint, we believe that all people who dedicate their lives to public service deserve respect.”
The congresswoman responded to the controversy Tuesday evening by tweeting: “What people don’t (maybe do) realize is when orgs air these hateful messages, my life changes bc of the flood of death threats they inspire. I‘ve had mornings where I wake up & the 1st thing I do w/ my coffee is review photos of the men (it’s always men) who want to kill me.”
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.