Milwaukee Alderman Khalif Rainey is calling the standing ovation of support for Brewer's pitcher Josh Hader following the discovery of racist and homophobic tweets he sent as a teen "an embarrassment to the world."
Rainey made the comment in a statement his office released late Monday. The alderman's statement was titled "Milwaukee drops the ball again on race relations."
Hader's tweets resurfaced as pitched in the All-Star Game on July 17. On Saturday, when he made his first appearance in Milwaukee since the incident, fans at Miller Park gave Hader a standing ovation.
"The boisterous manner of standing to show support for Hader is nothing less than a dismissive stance against problems of race affecting an entire community: a community dealing with the effects of hyper-segregation, economic disparity and police harassment," Rainey said.
Fans at Monday's game against the Washington Nationals gave Hader and the fans that stood up for the ovation the benefit of the doubt.
"Embarrassing for the fans to stand up? You know I wouldn't stand up in that situation. But I don't know what their personal reasons were for standing up. Maybe it's for a guy admitting he was wrong and apologizing," fan Joseph Hoplguin said.
The Brewers did not return a request for comment on Rainey's statement.
