Marlins Park Announces Ali's Passing Before Official Notice Given

The Marlins on Friday night after their game against the Mets posted a picture of Muhammad Ali "on the giant scoreboard at Marlins Park" with the caption: '42-'16. But it was two hours later before it "was announced that Ali had died." Marlins President David Samson said, "It was not an error. We were informed by someone close to the family that he had passed away. We wanted to get a tribute out as soon as we possibly could. ... [Ali's] an important part of our organization. He opened our new ballpark" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/4). Samson added, "There's no way I would have broken the news of Muhammad Ali's passing at a Marlins game or anywhere. That's certainly for the family to do. But as far as I knew, it already had been made public. ... It was really a very innocent and heartfelt situation" (ESPN.com, 6/4).