One hundred members of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus stood in Petco Park’s center field on Saturday before the Padres-Dodgers game when a woman’s voice was piped to the crowd.
The chorus stood as the feminine voice sang the national anthem and hecklers had a field day — “You sing like a girl” was launched at them, according to the group — before they were ushered off the field without getting the chance to sing.
Immediately after the incident, the Padres issued an apology, saying “a mistake was made in the Petco Park control room.” The team apologized and said it extended an offer to the chorus for another opportunity to perform.
That wasn’t enough for the singing group.
The men’s confusion turned to anger in the ensuing hours, as they issued a lengthy statement condemning the “nightmare” and questioning whether homophobia runs through the Padres’ organization.
“No attempt was made to stop the recording and start over,” the statement posted on Facebook read. “No announcement of apology was made to the singers or their friends and families in the stands. No attempt to correct the situation occurred other than to force the 100 men to stand in the spotlight of center field for the song’s duration and then be escorted off the field to the heckles of baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts.”
The PA mix-up was just the culmination of a headache for the chorus, who alleged that the organization tried to squeeze ticket money out of each performer, even if the man was not staying for the game.
“Three days before the game, San Diego Padres representatives aggressively sought to prevent singers from performing the National Anthem unless they purchased a ticket to the game—even if they did not plan to stay for the game—which was not part of any previous discussion or written or verbal agreement and would have cost the small, community-based non-profit thousands of dollars,” the statement said. “The demand eventually was rescinded on Friday following repeated complaints made by SDGMC and San Diego Pride to San Diego Padres management.”