The Houston Astros just can't get away from the 2017 sign-stealing cheating scandal that rocked Major League Baseball. But hey, they sure can try.
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The latest example of their efforts came when a female fan of the Washington Nationals showed up to support her team while wearing a shirt that read, "Bang Foul Poles Not Trash Cans." The game was in Houston. Security made her turn her shirt inside-out, so that the message was hidden. She wanted to enter the stadium, so she complied.
The fan, identified only as Ali, became an immediate social media legend.
"Many fans on X/Twitter called the Astros 'soft' for ordering the message covered up," wrote Arthur Weinstein of the Comeback. "There were some rumbles about First Amendment rights. Yet it really is a security issue. Reminders of the Astros' scandal still evoke strong emotions in many of the team's fans. Who knows what might have happened if Ali had encountered one of those fans having a really bad day."
In other words, perhaps security was doing it for Ali's own good. That's one excuse. Another is, yeah, they're just all "soft' about it. Fans arrive in opposing team gear all the time. Fans confront other fans via considerably worse methods, too.
Security made Ali turn her @seventhandf shirt inside out (lmao wut???) but we made it to the most BANGIN’ landmark in Texas! pic.twitter.com/xtsH41OQj3
— Lenny Rubin (@lennyrubin) May 3, 2024
So it's fair to question why stadium security is telling people what they can wear. Sure, messages of hate shouldn't be allowed. But messages of fun that aren't offending anyone? That should be permitted every time.
Frankly, security at stadiums has too much power over fans who pay good money and support their teams. Fan and player safety is one thing. Trying to quiet a well-known truth about your franchise is quite another.
Man up, Astros security. The organization once cheated. That will go down in MLB lore, and that's true even if you don't like it.
