Man ejected from Yankee Stadium for lack of patriotism

Brett Singer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I tried to come up with something funny to say about this but I was too annoyed. Sorry about that.

The sportsblog Deadspin interviewed one Bradford Campeau-Laurion who was manhandled by the police (or possibly just Yankee Stadium security; it's not entirely clear). His crime? Getting up during the singing of "God Bless America." Apparently staying motionless during the song (usually a recording of Kate Smith, pictured), played during the 7th inning of baseball games after the 9/11 attacks, is a Yankee Stadium rule imposed by George Steinbrenner last year as, "an expression of patriotism."

Here is Bradford's description of what happened to him:

I attempted to get up to use the restroom, rather urgently, during the 7th inning stretch as God Bless America was beginning. As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.

As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violenty [sic] behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium.

In other words, he had the nerve to (a) move during a patriotic song and (b) to state that he didn't care about said song. No matter how patriotic you consider yourself to be, I hope that you find the behavior of the officers/security personnel to be objectionable.

Source: Deadspin

Image: e-musicpedia

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