What was supposed to be a moment to cherish has turned into a nightmare. The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus lined up on the field prior to Saturday’s Padres home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers to perform the national anthem. Instead, an audio recording of a woman singing the anthem was played while the chorus stayed in line on the field. Now, Major League Baseball is digging in to investigate the embarrassing situation.
According to a report from USA Today, a spokesman on behalf of Major League Baseball said they will investigate to determine whether the audio mishap was intentional or not. (The group was also asked to purchase 100 tickets to Saturday’s game as part of their performance.) Padres president Mike Dee reportedly supported MLB’s involvement in the case as well.
“We are pleased that Major League Baseball is going to look into this issue and we will cooperate fully,” Dee said Monday. “Based on our internal investigation, and our decisive actions yesterday, we are eager for all the facts surrounding this unfortunate incident to come forward.”
The Padres, to their credit, acted swiftly in response to this unfortunate circumstance. A third-party contractor in charge was fired and another team employee was disciplined as well.
Statement from the #Padres regarding tonight's National Anthem: pic.twitter.com/KAKUAjlg6W
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 22, 2016
One thing the Padres should do, if they have not already, is arrange to have the chorus back later in the season to perform the anthem. Understanding that the schedule for anthem performances may already be booked, it would be good for the Padres to work out an alternative for sometime this season and book them now for a future home game in 2016 or 2017, if needed.
