PawSox Issue Apology About Including Sean Spicer and Chick-fil-A on Pride Night

Thursday, July 25, 2019

GoLocalWorcester News Team

After some fans voiced frustration and anger that the recent Pawtucket Red Sox Pride Night included former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and was sponsored by Chick-fil-A -- a company who has a record of anti-gay policies -- the PawSox on Thursday afternoon issued an apology.

According to an article that appeared in VOX, "The Chick-fil-A Foundation donated more than $1.8 million to three groups with a history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination in 2017, according to recently released tax filings analyzed by ThinkProgress."

"That year, Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm gave $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a religious organization that requires its employees to refrain from “homosexual acts”; $150,000 to the Salvation Army, which has been accused of anti-LGBTQ discrimination and advocacy for years and whose media relations director once claimed gay people “deserve death”; and $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a Christian residential home that teaches young boys that same-sex marriage is a “rage against Jesus Christ and His values,” reported Vox.

READ THE PAWSOX LETTER BELOW

Dear Fans,

This past Friday night, the Pawtucket Red Sox celebrated our annual Pride Night. Our hope was to allow all fans to feel welcome and loved at the ballpark, while celebrating the vast and diverse population of LGBTQ+ persons in our region.

On that same night, we welcomed the Independence Fund, a nonprofit that helps severely wounded veterans, and together, we honored a heroic Marine who became paralyzed while saving the life of another Marine. A week before the ceremony, the Independence Fund chose to be represented by their active Board Member, Rhode Island native Sean Spicer.

We did not foresee the confluence of these events, which has wounded many of our friends and fans in the LGBTQ+ community, and the many allies. We are terribly sorry, and we seek to make amends.

In addition, we are learning that some have thought we scheduled a promotion with Chick-Fil-A on Pride Night. For the past two years, the PawSox have run a nightly promotion sponsored by local owners of Chick-Fil-A restaurants: One fan each game has the opportunity to catch three pop flies, and if the third pop fly is caught, all fans have the option to redeem their ticket stubs for a chicken sandwich at an area restaurant. We run this promotion at every game, not only on Pride Night.

The PawSox remain committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment at the ballpark, and we will continue to work with and learn from the various members of our community. We do believe that education leads to understanding.

Again, we apologize and thank the many individuals who expressed their heart-felt views. Working together, we can make positive, constructive, unifying improvements in our society. We look forward to doing so, and to continuing the dialogue.

Most sincerely,

Dr. Charles Steinberg

President