What was supposed to be a celebration of Latinx heritage turned into a racist epithet-slinging brawl in the Wrigley Field bleachers.
At the end of the Chicago Cubs 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Hispanic Heritage Night, a melee broke out in the stands between at least six people. It included one fan shouting derogatory, racist language, such as “beaners” and “spics,” towards a Latino man involved in the scuffle.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the game featured specially-priced tickets, which included t-shirts emblazoned with “Los Cubs.” At some point after the game, things got heated between fans in the left-field bleachers.
Danny Rockett, who hosts a Cubs podcast called “The Son Ranto Show,” not only recorded much of the action but posted bits to his Twitter page.
Here’s how the Sun-Times breaks down the fight:
Two men separate from the larger group and exchange punches. “He hit me in the face,” one man yells. A woman can be heard screaming, “Stop it! Stop it!” Smaller arguments start and stop.
Cubs security guards, wearing red shirts, can be seen trying to separate the groups and eventually breaking things up.
Another fan appears and yells multiple times, “There’s no fighting in the bleachers!” — but the scuffles continue.
After about 1 1/2 minutes, a man can be heard yelling f-bombs and what sounds like a racial slur for Hispanics as a woman tries to pull him away. A man says, “Here we go again,” and another fight breaks out.
In a second video posted by Rockett, you can hear the man involved in the fight yelling, “You threw the first punch. You threw the first punch! You threw the first punch.” He then yells “beaners” and “spics.”
The man then turns to Rockett and tells him not to record.
“Don’t record me!” the man yells and moves toward Rockett. Security can be heard telling Rockett: “You’re on private property. You don’t have permission to videotape anyone.” The video then ends.
Rockett initially said that racism caused the fight but later told the Sun-Times “I really don’t know. Probably just drunks going back and forth. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary really until it was a melee.”
The Cubs eventually kicked both men out and told them they aren’t welcomed back for the remainder of the season.
Turns out that one of the men involved in the melee is a member of the Indiana National Guard. Only one man is seen yelling racist epithets on the video, but the Indiana National Guard told WISH-TV that they are conducting a “thorough inquiry to determine the details surrounding this incident.”
The Indiana National Guard also released this statement:
The statements made by this individual are not in keeping with the Army Values, and they do not reflect the views or beliefs of the United States Armed Forces, and specifically, the Indiana National Guard. We take these types of situations very seriously, and the conduct of this individual is unbecoming of a service member.
“I don’t want people to think this is what the bleachers are like,” Danny Rockett told WISH-TV. “I’m there every night and the Cubs bleacher regulars are a family and everyone is welcome. Except racists.”