The Staten Island Yankees, a Single-A affiliate of the New York franchise, received backlash for their "Blue Lives Matter Day" held on Sunday.
Not insensitive at all, Staten Island Yankees! pic.twitter.com/rlFZQ5mw9Z
— Aaron Fischer (@AaronFisch) August 9, 2015MORE: Most infamous moment for every MLB team
One of the biggest criticisms regarding the event was that it was held on the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Brown was shot and killed by police, and his death still has impact on the community, and the nation, one year later.
Mike Holley, the senior director of marketing for the Staten Island Yankees, admitted the timing of the event was a “very unfortunate coincidence." He added the event was not meant to be political, but rather a way to help a local family.
The event was hosted by Blue Lives Matter NYC, a group that focuses on raising money for families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The families of NYPD detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos (both were shot and killed in Brooklyn in December 2014) were honored during the game. One of Liu's family members threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Holley says the event was in planning since February and chose the date because it was a Sunday and a matchup against Brooklyn, the team's rival. He said it was a typical fundraiser, and didn't think about the timing in connection with the anniversary of Brown's death.
“In retrospect I’m not as surprised (about the negative criticism), but the whole time we were setting up...we didn’t really look at it in a political way," Holley said in a phone conversation. "We certainly had no intention of offending anybody."
UPDATE:This is disgusting!!! My father was killed not too far from this event #opfurguson https://t.co/C5zUrIP4HB
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) August 10, 2015