Rays' Minor-League Affiliate Hosts Women-Only Promotion

By Brian Helfrich, Assistant Managing Editor

When the Single-A New York Penn League Hudson Valley Renegades take the field tonight to face the Staten Island Yankees, there will not be a single adult male fan sitting inside Dutchess Stadium. For the first five innings of tonight’s game, only female fans will be allowed to take their seat as part of the Renegades’ “Ball-Less Baseball” promotion. The Renegades, an affiliate of the Rays, created the event both to honor women and to provide team officials with a better understanding of female baseball fans in the local market, said Renegades President Jeff Goldklang. “The promotion was hatched in no small part to help us determine what the purchasing power of women is within this area and within our fan base,” said Goldklang. “We are very likely attracting a different demographic to this game than is typical.” The promotion includes around 15 sponsored activities within the ballpark for women, including spa and nail treatments. In addition, all male employees at the ballpark will be dressed in female clothing, and all women in attendance will share remote controls allowing them to take charge of the images on the park’s scoreboards. Yankees Assistant GM Jean Afterman, one of just two women in such a position with an MLB team, will toss out the ceremonial first pitch.

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS? Tonight’s event did not come about without headaches, however, as Dutchess County officials last week sent a letter to Renegades officials calling on the franchise to cancel the event. The county, which owns Dutchess Stadium, feared that some aspects of the promotion violated state equity laws. In a copy of the letter obtained by the Poughkeepsie Journal, Senior Assistant County Attorney Keith P. Byron writes, "At best, the promotion is in poor taste. However, I write to warn that the promotion likely violates the New York State Human Rights Law and probably violates the guarantee to equal protection under the laws contained in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. New York State Human Rights Law expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in any place of public accommodation. Clearly, your plan to prohibit admittance based on gender runs afoul of this provision." However, Goldklang said the Renegades assuaged all concerns with the county, adding several tailgating festivities outside the ballpark to keep male fans entertained until they are allowed to enter the game in the sixth inning. “We did have to make some additions to what we are doing,” said Goldklang, “but everything that we had planned for the promotion is all systems go, and we’ve actually added a bunch of items to give the county a bit more of a comfort level.”