The Padres yesterday said that they had "disciplined an employee and stopped working with a contractor who was responsible for marring the performance of the national anthem by the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus" at Petco Park, according to Hamilton & Barboza of the L.A. TIMES. The choir's Saturday performance was "drowned out by a recording of a woman singing the national anthem that was broadcast in the stadium." The incident "generated outrage, partly because the chorus was singing during 'Out at the Park,' a special LGBT pride event at the stadium." The Padres in a statement said that they had "conducted an internal probe and concluded that there was 'no evidence of malicious intent' by any of the individuals involved in the mishap, but the organization faulted personnel for not immediately intervening and correcting the situation." The chorus was "supposed to sing along with a pre-recorded track," but instead the "solo female voice was piped through the stadium." Padres President & CEO Mike Dee called chorus Exec Dir Bob Lehman to "explain what happened." Lehman said that Dee "told him that a contractor did not load the choir's recording, so the previous night's recording played instead." Lehman: "They are just heartbroken this kind of thing happened." Lehman added that he and Dee "plan to meet in the next few days" (L.A. TIMES, 5/23). Lehman said that he had "been told that the regular technician was in a car crash the night before and that a substitute was in the control room." Lehman: "Somebody didn't know how to press the stop button? I couldn't believe a professional organization like that didn't know what to do" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/23). CBS' Gayle King said it "does seem like a very awkward situation" ("CBS This Morning," 5/23).
DON'T STOP THE SHOW: A Padres official said that the chorus has "performed the anthem at Petco on several other occasions without incident." In San Diego, Kenney & Brennan note when Padres officials "asked the organization to perform again this year, they were eager to participate." But Lehman said that several days before the event the Padres "notified him that the singers would have to purchase tickets in order to perform, whether or not they intended to stay for the game." He said that some of his members "could not afford tickets, and they had not been required to buy tickets for their performance in September." It is "unclear whether the Padres typically require performers to buy tickets in order to sing at the park" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/23).
