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Padres Rehires DJ, Offers to Sing Anthem With Gay Men's Chorus After Mix-up
Padres Rehires DJ, Offers to Sing Anthem With Gay Men's Chorus After Mix-up
The mistake, which the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus called "humiliating," was the result of human error, according to a Major League Baseball investigation.
The DJ responsible for playing a recording of a woman singing instead of what was supposed to be a recording of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus singing the national anthem at a Pride-themed San Diego Padres baseball game has been rehired after an investigation revealed he made a simple mistake, The San Diego Union Tribune reported Thursday.
Initially, The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus called for an investigation of last weekend's incident, worried that the choice of recording was a gesture of homophobia. After the performance, the chorus wrote on Facebook, "No attempt to correct the situation occurred other than to force the 100 men to stand in the spotlight of center field for the song's duration and then be escorted off the field to heckles of baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts including 'You sing like a girl.'"
Major League Baseball investigated the incident and discovered that the issue was caused by human error, according to the paper. Cyd Zeigler, the cofounder of Outsports, told The Advocate that the guy "who runs the whole in-game experience was out that night because of a car accident." Zeigler explained that the male chorus was supposed to sing to a prerecorded track, but the DJ mistakenly played the wrong track.
The league called the Padres' attempts to make amends for the situation, including an invitation to perform at a future game, "appropriate." The chorus told the Tribune it had "every expectation that the Club's longstanding record of inclusion will be evident in the future."
The chorus was reportedly happy with the MLB's findings. Padres president and CEO Mike Dee told the paper that DJ ArtForm will be returning to Petco Park, though perhaps in a different capacity.
The Padres CEO suggested DJ ArtForm perform with the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus at a later date to make amends for the error. "We have offered, the Padres front office and myself, to sing in unison with the chorus, if they would be so grateful to take our invitation and perform at a later date," he said. "It's the first anthem I've sung in 20 years of professional baseball. I hope I don't have a live mic, but we'll certainly stand there and show our support."
