The United States is continuing to deal with surges of anti-progressive sentiment like that which popped up when during a Memorial Day event for the Fresno Grizzlies when a video aired equating Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) with “enemies of freedom” like the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. That team has now lost another corporate sponsor in the wake of that debacle with an announcement from the alcohol giant Heineken that they would no longer be involved with the team. Both their Dos Equis and Tecate brands had been sponsors.
‘We do not support those views expressed in the video, that was aired during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Memorial Day. For that reason, we have ended this relationship, effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision.’
Their announcement follows a similar one from Sun-Maid raisins, which has local ties and acknowledged in their statement on the matter that the team had “unconditionally” apologized for the video but still pulled their sponsorship all the same. Remaining sponsors include Save Mart stores, the agriculture company GAR Tootelian, and The Fresno Bee, which has declined to finalize the future of its relationship with the team as of late this past week.
The video in question featured a photo montage featuring Ocasio-Cortez, Castro, and others during audio of a speech from former President Ronald Reagan in which he decried “enemies of freedom.” The team insists that the airing was an honest mistake because they downloaded the incorrect Memorial Day tribute and no one in their front office apparently watched the one they actually got in in its entirety before they blasted it out to their stadium.
The Grizzlies’ parent team the Washington Nationals, which competes as part of Major League Baseball, backed up the team’s explanation, sharing:
‘Based on their investigation, it is clear to us that this was an honest mistake by a long-time employee and was not politically motivated. They have put processes in place to ensure it does not happen again and we are comfortable with those procedures.’
There’s not too much available in the way of specifics covering what those procedures actually are, and the team has similarly declined to identify the employee responsible beyond suggesting they had some kind of seniority in the organization. They’ve shared that the person responsible for the anti-Ocasio-Cortez video was reprimanded, but they again declined to provide specifics beyond that.
The Congresswoman herself has declined to explicitly lambast the Grizzlies in public commentary, instead taking the opportunity to discuss the situation surrounding those who do have explicit bias against her and take their hatred to the point of issuing death threats. Public displays of opposition to her and her agenda often spark spikes in these threats, she shared, including the incessant whining that Fox News hosts do about her.
Ocasio-Cortez continues to attract scrutiny through her “radical” ideas like enacting environmental justice in the United States and slashing greenhouse gas emissions in the face of rising climate change threats.
Featured Image via screenshot
