Whoops!
Rockies investigate own fan for yelling racial slur. Turns out he was just yelling the mascot's name
In an era where everything needs to be a "thing," we all, more often than not, opt for speed over accuracy. One of the most egregious speed-over-accuracy offenses was committed by the Colorado Rockies on Sunday evening, and it will hopefully serve as a teaching moment.
Just past 9:30 p.m. ET, the official Twitter account for the Rockies sent out a statement that insinuated that one of their own fans had shouted a racial slur at Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson when Brinson was up to bat in the top of the ninth inning. The video clip of said fan had not begun to circulate on social media yet, so the statement felt a bit out of the blue:
Judging by the use of the word "disgusted," this was obviously a very serious matter. Yet in the very next sentence the Rockies also said the incident was still being investigated, implying that the investigation was not yet complete. Unless, of course, the Rockies live in an alternate universe where investigations are over before their completion, very possible given how much of a dumpster fire the organization has become.
Turns out, the investigation was actually completed by everyone with a pair of eyes and ears on the internet on Monday. As the video began to make its rounds, the fan in question can be seen looking and pointing to his right, and eventually shouting "DINGER!", which is the name of the Rockies' purple dinosaur mascot. No, this is not mad libs, it's literally what happened.
Steve Staeger, a local news anchor and reporter in Colorado, had the full story, with the video, in this Twitter thread:
Interestingly, as Staeger points out, the Rockies still have not issued a retraction of the original statement, nor an apology to the fan they were "disgusted" with and threatened to ban for life over .... trying to get the attention of the team's mascot. Perhaps the organization is taking it's time on that one. Smart.
If you can believe it, this is an organization that made the playoffs in consecutive years in 2017 and 2018, and even made it all the way to the World Series in 2007. But now, between this, the Nolan Arenado mess, the fact they aren't even going to get anything for shortstop Trevor Story, and, who could forget, one of their fans getting CLOCKED back in May, they've truly become the MLB's biggest laughingstock overnight.