Detroit — A 31-year-old Commerce Township woman said Tuesday she was the victim of religious discrimination by Comerica Park employees and Detroit police officers who escorted her from the ballpark Friday after she was told her hoodie bearing the message “Jesus over Pride” was offensive to people who’d complained.
But Detroit Tigers officials said the woman wasn’t removed because of her clothing, but because she refused multiple directives to sit down during the game.
Paige Combs-Morgan said when relatives invited her to join them in their seats behind home plate for the Detroit Tigers game against the Chicago White Sox, she decided to wear the hoodie in response to the flap over three San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their caps during the team’s June 12 Pride Night celebration at Oracle Park. The players said they objected to wearing team caps bearing the Pride logo, which they said violated their religious beliefs.
The incident in San Francisco sparked a national controversy after Major League Baseball officials warned that the hat alterations were against league rules.
The warning prompted inquiries by a U.S. senator and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether the players’ civil rights had been violated. MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred blamed the Giants for the flap, saying the team hadn’t properly explained to players that they could opt out of wearing hats bearing the Pride logo.
Combs-Morgan said the response by the Giants and MLB amounted to religious bigotry against Christians, and she said she wanted to wear the hoodie to the Tigers game in protest.
“We hear a lot of messages about LQBTQ pride, and I think it’s important to get another message out: Put Jesus before pride,” she said. “And they told me that was offensive. I can’t imagine why anyone would think ‘Jesus over pride’ is offensive. I don’t hate gay people; Jesus said to love everyone. But I do think Jesus should come before everything, including pride. Somehow, that’s offensive.”
The Tigers said Combs-Morgan was removed for her behavior, not her hoodie.
“We received several complaints from fans seated behind home plate during Friday’s game, who reported another fan’s behavior as being disruptive to their ballpark experience,” the team said in a statement. “The behavior included frequent walks and poses across the front row of seats in camera-visible areas, obstructing others from being able to watch the game.
“Our staff warned the fan that she would be ejected if the behavior continued, as it violated our fan code of conduct,” the Tigers said. “She was later escorted from the ballpark because the behavior persisted, and not because of her attire. … Our fan code of conduct is available online … with one of the first expectations listed being that guests should refrain from any action that disrupts other guests’ enjoyment of the game.”
What video of the incident shows
The hoodie Combs-Morgan wore to Friday’s game is light gray, with a cross next to the rainbow-colored word “Jesus.” A red heart follows the word “Pride.”
According to Combs-Morgan, after she’d watched the game without incident for a few innings, Comerica Park staff checked her tickets to ensure she and her relatives were in their assigned seats.
“We were in the wrong seats, but we were only about five, six seats over, so we moved down,” she said. “A couple minutes later, I think because we were still on TV after they moved us, a couple managers came over and told me to follow them. … They told me my shirt was offending people.”
Combs-Morgan said she became more animated after that. According to the video, during the sixth inning, she held out her arms and posed for the center field television camera, showing off the message on her hoodie and walking across the front row.
“I wasn’t being obnoxious; I was just showing off the message, because it’s ridiculous that anyone would think it’s offensive,” Combs-Morgan said. “So, I decided to sprawl my arms out and show off my shirt.”
When she left her seat and headed toward the concession stand to get a drink, Combs-Morgan said a group of Comerica Park employees and police officers approached her.
According to a video of the incident, first posted online by New Media Detroit, a Comerica Park employee told Combs-Morgan to stop recording their conversation.
“Put the phone down,” he said. “If you’re going to do this, we’re going to eject you.”
“I have to leave if I don’t put my phone down?” Combs-Morgan asked.
When she refused to stop recording, the man said, “You’re out of here,” the video shows.
As she was being escorted from the park, Combs-Morgan recorded herself saying: “They’re kicking me out because of my shirt,” to which a female park employee replies: “We have received a couple complaints.”
“They had seven or eight people there, including three officers,” Combs-Morgan told The Detroit News. “They forced me to leave. … I asked them if I could at least get my purse and tell my family I was leaving, but they wouldn’t let me. They said I could just call to tell them.”
Why the fan wore the hoodie to the Tigers game
Combs-Morgan said she was motivated to wear the hoodie to the Tigers came following the controversy involving Giants players Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, who each wrote verses from the Book of Genesis on their hats during Pride Night in protest of the team’s hats bearing the rainbow Pride logo.
The players received a warning from Major League Baseball for altering their equipment, which prompted U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, to send a letter to MLB officials accusing the league of possibly engaging in “a pattern of discrimination” against Christian players. The Department of Justice also launched an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation.
In response, Manfred wrote in a June 19 letter to Hawley that there had been a “lapse in communication,” and that Giants officials didn’t tell players they could opt out of wearing hats bearing the Pride logo.
“Unfortunately, this year the Giants’ communication with players was inadequate and not clear,” Manfred wrote. “Some players apparently did not understand that they had the option to wear their normal uniform and elected to add messages to their hats bearing the pride logo as a result.”
Last week, the Pennsylvania-based York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League forfeited its game on Pride Night after the players refused to wear jerseys celebrating the theme.
Combs-Morgan said she doesn’t plan to take any action following her removal from Comerica Park.
“I’m not going to file a lawsuit, and I’m making this a big civil rights thing,” she said. “Jesus wouldn’t seek money, and I’m not seeking money either. But I do plan on wearing that shirt again. Maybe not to that venue, but I’ll keep wearing it, because I have a right to get this message out, too.”
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
@GeorgeHunter_DN
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Woman: Hoodie’s message got me kicked out of Tigers game. Team blames conduct
Reporting by George Hunter, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By George Hunter, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
