Top Menu

Robinson, Reese statue defaced in Brooklyn

Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson

A statue of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese outside MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones (short season A; NY-Penn League), was defaced with swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets overnight.

Cyclones employees were able to remove most of the spray paint before a scheduled matinee today. From ESPN New York:

The statue shows Reese with his arm around Robinson and commemorates the moment at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field when Reese, playing before his family, showed his solidarity with Robinson amid ugly backlash about the integration of Major League Baseball. The moment was recreated in the recent movie “42.”

The New York City Police Department is investigating the incident at the Coney Island ballpark. There is video surveillance outside the ballpark, a Cyclones spokesman said.

“This is being treated as a bias crime,” detective John Nevandro of the 60th precinct said in a statement. “Hate Crimes will investigate the incident.”

Image via flickr.com.

—-

Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.

Are you a subscriber to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter? You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.

Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!

Follow Ballpark Digest on Google + and add us to your circles!

, , , , , , , ,