The Fresno Grizzlies, a Minor League Baseball team in central California, apologized on Tuesday for playing a short video during a game Monday that equated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
The video, titled "Memorial Day Tribute — We Are Americans," included excerpts from President Ronald Reagan's first inaugural address, the Fresno Bee reports. When Reagan said, "As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries," images of Kim, Ocasio-Cortez, and Castro flashed on the screen.
The Fresno Grizzlies said in a statement the tribute was produced by an outside company, and they were "embarrassed we allowed this video to play without seeing it in its entirety first." What was supposed to be a "moving tribute" ended up including "some misleading and offensive editing, which made a statement that was not our intent and certainly not our opinion," the team said.
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Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter, saying that "when organizations air these hateful messages, my life changes because of the flood of death threats they inspire. I've had mornings where I wake up and the first thing I do with my coffee is review photos of the men (it's always men) who want to kill me." Ocasio-Cortez said she gets more threats "whenever Fox gets particularly aggressive and hateful, too," adding, "all of this is to say that words matter, and can have consequences for safety."
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