YOUR FAVORITE LOGO TV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

San Diego Padres Accused Of Humiliating Gay Men's Chorus With Homophobic Prank

The chorus shuffled off the field as fans taunted "you sing like a girl!"

What should have been a wonderful testament to how far pro sports have come in LGBT inclusion devolved into a dehumanizing homophobia Saturday at a San Diego Padres game this weekend.

The Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego was all set to sing the National Anthem at Petco Park Satuday night, in celebration of this weekend being San Diego Pride.

But before the 100 chorus members could sing a single note, the Padres played a recording of the woman singing the anthem.

From the Facebook page of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus:

No attempt was made to stop the recording and start over. No announcement of apology was made to the singers or their friends and families in the stands.

No attempt to correct the situation occurred other than to force the 100 men to stand in the spotlight of center field for the song’s duration and then be escorted off the field to the heckles of baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts including “You sing like a girl.”

The post also claims the incident followed several days of "troubling comments and behavior" within the Padres organization.

Team reps had apparently been demanding chorus members buy tickets, even if they weren't staying for the game. We're not sure if this is standard procedure, but we doubt Demi Lovato has to buy a ticket when she sings the National Anthem.

The Chorus is calling on the Padres and Major League Baseball to investigate the incident "to determine if someone or some people intentionally engaged in anti-gay discrimination or a hate crime by playing a female’s voice to represent a group of gay men with the purpose of denigrating and/or ridiculing gay men." (Billy Bean, MLB's inclusion officer, played for the Padres from 1993 to 1995.)

They also want the city to determine if the incident violates San Diego's civil rights ordinances.

San Diego Padres President Mike Dee reached out to the Chorus to apologize and to offer to meet with LGBT leaders, but the team's tepid statement to the public was a two-sentence tweet apologizing for the "mistake."

Unsurprisingly, the Chorus say they are "disappointed" by the Padres' response, which they feel "did not appropriately address the gravity of the situation nor pay due to the 100 volunteers who took to the field in celebration and were led off in humiliation."

h/t: Joe My God

Latest News