Update, May 23, 2016: The Padres issued a new statement indicating their investigation found no evidence of malicious intent, however based on the unintentional mistake and failure of those with oversight to immediately intervene, "we have terminated our relationship with the third-party contractor who was responsible for the error, and taken disciplinary action against our employee who was responsible for the game production...We once again sincerely apologize to members of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, their families and those who came out to support their Pride Night performance. The Padres organization is proud of our longstanding commitment to inclusion – within both our sport and our community. We deeply regret that a mistake on our part has called this into question, but accept full responsibility.”
By Miriam Raftery
May 22, 2016 (San Diego)—When 100 volunteer members of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus took to the field Saturday night to sing the national anthem at the San Diego Padres vs. Dodgers game, their microphones were inexplicably off . A recording of a woman singing the Star Spangled Banner was played over the loudspeakers instead of the men's voices.
No announcement or explanation was offered. Afterwards, the stunned performers were ushered off the field and heckled by baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts including “You sing like a girl,” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page by Bob Lehman, director of the Chorus.
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