Women's rights group UltraViolet is "calling for the Royals to cut ties with the Vitae Foundation, an anti-abortion group based in Jefferson City, Mo., that has branded ads on video boards at Royals games and is advertising on the team’s radio broadcasts," according to Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY. UltraViolet last night flew a banner over Kauffman Stadium protesting the Royals' deal with Vitae. The Royals in a statement said, "We entered into an agreement with the Vitae Foundation at the start of the 2016 season. It is primarily a radio advertisement buy. Vitae has similar agreements with other properties and media outlets" (USATODAY.com, 6/6). Royals VP/Communications & Broadcasting Mike Swanson said that in addition to radio ads, the Vitae sponsorship "includes an announcement during the half-hour before games." In K.C., Ellen Cagle noted the foundation logo is also "shown on the Crown Vision scoreboard." UltraViolet "objected to an essay contest sponsored by the Vitae Foundation and affiliated with the Royals." The “Champions for Life” contest "encouraged seventh-graders to submit essays 'about what it means to be a Champion for Life.'" The prompt continued: “How can we make abortion unthinkable?” The contest, which closed May 1, was "open only to the 33 Catholic grade schools" within the Archdiocese of K.C., Kan. (KANSASCITY.com, 6/2).
