In a rather bizarre story, a baseball fan has walked away with 10 grand after he claimed he was ejected from Yankee Stadium when he attempted to leave for the bathroom during “God Bless America.”
Bradford Campeau-Laurion had named the Yankees and New York City in his federal lawsuit, which argued that he was a victim of political and religious discrimination and that his rights were violated at the August 2008 game.
The city did not admit liability in the settlement, which was finalized Monday. But it will give the Queens resident $10,001 and will pay $12,000 in legal fees to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
For its part, the Yankees will pay nothing but said in settlement papers that fans at the team’s new stadium are allowed to move freely during the song and there are no plans to change that.
But fans may not always have felt completely unfettered. Ushers used handheld chains to block off some exits while it was played at the Yankees’ old stadium, although chief operating officer Lonn Trost has said they were instructed to let through spectators with emergencies.
“This settlement ensures that the new Yankee Stadium will be a place for baseball, not compelled patriotism,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. The city Law Department had no comment.
Police spokesman Paul J. Browne earlier claimed the on-duty officers ejected Campeau-Laurion because he was drunk and disorderly. But the Red Sox fan said he had two beers, an hour apart, and enjoyed the game quietly.
Big ups to my favorite executive director Donna Lieberman for keeping it real. There’s a vibrant hate that almost runs deeper than that within international relations, and that’s between the Yankees and Red Sox. When you have a Red Sox fan vouching for his rival, there must be something thicker than truth in what he or she is saying. When a Red Sox fan sees his nemesis in a predicament where they could be saddened, embarrassed, or beaten, they would usually jump at the opportunity. But in this situation we have a Red Sox fan standing up for his opponent because of basic human rights.
Look, I like “God Bless America” just as much as the next guy, which is to say I don’t have an opinion about the song. It’s something I had to sing in elementary school and have heard at various events (patriotic or not) throughout my life. It’s engrained in my head much in the same way those Jack in the Box Mini Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich commercials now are because or their consistency. The 1918 classic by Irving Berlin isn’t on my iPod or anything, but I understand it’s significance and sentimentality. Nevertheless, I think it’s unnecessary to still several years after 9/11 and right when the game is really getting interesting. We already have “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the first pitch — which is great — but from then on it should be all about baseball. “The Star-Spangled Banner” recognizes our country for creating the ability to house the game of baseball, and the seventh-inning stretch is the time when fans of both teams can celebrate the sport. The inclusion of “God Bless America” creates an overly serious mood smack dab in the middle of this enjoyment and turns the seventh-inning into a theater intermission. Sorry, Irving.
Still while I think Campeau-Laurion was right in that nobody should be forced to stay put during “God Bless America” (or “The Star-Spangled Banner,” for that matter), a 10K payday is a bit much. Really, the most he should have been awarded were some free Yankee tickets or the opportunity to sing his own version of “God Bless America” during a game of his choosing.
