There is little more sacred Pittsburgh than the memory of the icon of pirates Roberto Clemente.
Or at least, that was the case before the arrival of surfside, the refreshing Combination of iced tea and vodka that offers a great taste without all the calories of beer.
Like many pirate fans have been horrified to discover, the emerging alcohol brand has a new advertisement on the wall of the right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. And although the image of the Surfside box is not offensive in itself, many have noticed that it had replaced a sign dedicated to Clemente, the legendary right defender who died in a plane crash in 1972 while he was trying to help the victims of earthquakes in Nicaragua.
Now, the president of the pirates, Travis Williams, has published a statement apologizing to the family and to the fans of Clement for “ an honest error ”, while announcing the team’s intention to replace the panel.
“We did not intend to disrespect the inheritance of Roberto Clemente by adding advertising to the PAD in the right field,” wrote Williams. “When we added advertising to the pad, it was surveillance not to keep logo n ° 21.”
“We will add logo n ° 21 to the pad.”
Robert Clemente’s life was tragically interrupted in 1972, when he was killed in a plane crash
The pirates quietly removed the “clemente” connection in the right field and replaced it with a vodka ad
Surfside offers customers a combination of vodka and iced tea only 100 calories per box
The problem appeared on social networks on Saturday, when Roberto Clemente Jr. saw an article stressing that sign n ° 21, which had been an element on the right for several seasons, was suddenly replaced by an alcohol ad.
“WOW,” replied Jr. Clement on X.
To worsen things, the temple of fame did not really like alcohol. Years earlier, Clemente Jr. told Smithsonian that her father was not really a drinker outside the glass of occasional wine.
Naturally, fans were furious against the pirates, a 3-7 team already frightened in Pittsburgh for its inability to compete for free agents.
“When you make a clemente tribute to the Clemente wall, you do not remove it for alcohol announces,” wrote a fan on X. “The hackers are bad in optics if you have not noticed.”
The family has since published a fairly optimistic statement.
“Our hope is that this moment is used for reflection, opening the way to a more thoughtful, transparent and collaborative relationship in the future,” said Clemente Jr.
Of course, PNC Park is built as a little a memorial to the heritage of Clemente.
There is his statue outside the building, not to mention his retired number on the wall, but the right sign was popular with fans because he recalled the prowess of the Golden Glover winner 12 times in this corner of the stadium.
A detailed photo of the Roberto Clemente statue before the match between the Royals of Kansas City and the Pittsburgh Pirates at the PNC Park on Sunday September 15, 2024 in Pittsburgh
In his statement, Williams recognized the various totems built in honor of Clement around the PNC park, while recognizing the club’s error.
“We want to make sure that the Clemente family understands that we had no lack of respect for their father,” said Williams. “We are impatient to continue our relationship with the Clemente family and to apologize to them and our fans for our honest error.”
Clemente was tragically killed in December 1972, when the plane he chartered to take emergency supplies to the victims of earthquakes in Nicaragua. His body has never been found.
The fame of fame, who died with exactly 3,000 strokes, was a member of the 1971 Pirate team – which aligned the first fully black programming in baseball.
This pirate team was going to beat the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series in October 1971 for the second crown of the World Series of Clemente.