The Mets tried to honor Native Americans and instead ended up offending them. The Mets tried to save face by downplaying an event, and instead look worse when the details of the situation comes to light.
Yup, it’s just another day in Flushing.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday the details surrounding the scheduling and a cancellation of a Native American Heritage Day at Citi Field. The Mets had contacted the American Indian Community House about participating in the event, which was to include traditional dancing and singing outside the stadium. The group was enthusiastic about the event, scheduled by July 25.
“Not a lot of people invite us to step on a great stage like that. We were really looking forward to it,” the A.I.C.H.’s education and development officer Rick Chavolla told the paper.
But the Mets backed away from most of that day’s celebration, which also included t-shirts and PSA announcements on the video board, over concerns it might offend their opponent – the Braves. On July 1, the Mets let A.I.C.H. know that the dancing and singing would not be allowed and the public service announcements would not be played. The non-profit group would be allowed to do some fundraising.
“Being a non-profit in the city, we’re not in the business of making enemies,” Kevin Tarrant, the deputy director of the A.I.C.H., said. “This whole thing wasn’t even our idea. But it just feels like we’re being marginalized again within our own community.”
So, the group pulled out of the event on Monday and removed it from its online calendar.
“We’re not trying to be overly sensitive,” Chavolla said, “but it seems like we fall into this type of thing a lot. We’re led to get enthusiastic about something, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, never mind.’ It’s disappointing, but it sort of amplifies a pattern of what we’ve been dealing with for hundreds of years.”