Video: TV-Visible Dodgers Fan Forced To Wear Diamondbacks Attire At Chase Field
PHOENIX, AZ (CBSLA.com) — Baseball fans were abuzz on social media after Sunday's game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, in which a Dodgers fan sitting in the front row behind home plate was apparently forced to change out of his Dodgers apparel.
The incident, caught in the background during Sunday's live telecast, shows individuals who appear to be employees of Chase Field approach the fan, who had been wearing a blue shirt. After speaking with the fan for a time, they are then seen putting him in a Diamondbacks jersey.
This is not a new trend in the Diamondbacks organization.
A previous incident, noted by Deadspin in 2013, suggests that a group of Dodger fans, sitting in the suite behind home plate and wearing Dodgers apparel, were instructed to either change into Diamondbacks apparel or change seats.
The same article suggests seats in the suite can run as high as $3,000 but that Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick gave visiting fans the ultimatum anyway.
Baseball blogger Craig Calcaterra took to Twitter on Monday and shared a quote from someone he identified as a "Dbacks spokesman." The statement reads: "At the time of purchase, we ask that those fans sitting in the home plate box, which is visible on TV, wear either neutral colors or D-backs attire which the team will provide."