Major League Baseball (MLB) has concluded its investigation into last Saturday’s National Anthem incident involving the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus.
The MLB found:
The Department of Investigations has concluded that the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus has performed the Star-Spangled Banner multiple times before a Padres game; that Saturday’s regrettable situation was a product of human error; that the situation was exacerbated by the fact that the lead entertainment supervisor was involved in a car accident on Friday night and thus was unable to work on Saturday and handle his typical responsibilities; that employees involved in the matter were handling new duties with which they were insufficiently familiar; and that the employees involved had no malicious intentions and, in fact, universally relayed contrition for how the incident unfolded and the adverse impression that it created.
Padres president and CEO Mike Dee said they will now hire back DJ ARTFORM who took complete responsibility for the mix-up.
“Based on MLB’s findings, as well as the support of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus,” Dee said in a statement, “DJ Art Romero has accepted our invitation to continue to provide services for the team, in a role to be determined.”
The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus issued the following statement through Facebook:
The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus expresses its appreciation to Major League Baseball, the San Diego Padres and President & CEO Mike Dee for their thorough review of the events that transpired in the broadcast booth during Saturday night’s game.
We have every confidence in their findings and we know Major League Baseball will use this experience to further reinforce its policies of LGBT inclusion and acceptance both on and off the playing field.
It is our sincere hope that out of this incident comes good–and that’s to continue our national conversation about professional sports, professional athletes and the LGBT community.
We are already moving forward in a constructive and positive direction for both the San Diego Padres and the LGBT community. We want to thank Mike Dee personally for working so closely with San Diego Pride and our Chorus. With Mike’s leadership, we know the San Diego Padres will become a national model for LGBT inclusion among all professional sports organizations.
Our Chorus is greatly humbled and deeply touched by the outpouring of support we have received from around the world. The words of encouragement from so many people have been overwhelming and positive. We would like to thank all of the community leaders who have come together in support including Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilman Todd Gloria.
We look forward to working together in partnership with the San Diego Padres.
