Two major sponsors announced Thursday that they ended their relationship with the Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball team in the fallout from a Memorial Day tribute video that depicted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y as "an enemy of the people."
Dos Equis and Tecate beers, both owned by Heineken International, said they would no longer sponsor the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals because the video — which showed Ocasio-Cortez alongside North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and former Cuban president Fidel Castro — went strongly against their companies' values.
The Grizzlies apologized late Monday for the video mishap, which the team said was selected from YouTube, was the product of some "misleading and offensive editing" and "made a statement that was not our intent and certainly not our opinion." The employee that selected the video, which was aired in the stadium on Monday, has since been reprimanded.
Originally meant to be a tribute for the armed forces, the video, featuring a President Ronald Reagan voiceover, aired between two games of a double-header. It eventually caused an uproar and received national attention.
The Grizzlies tweeted earlier in the week that the organization was "embarrassed" and "unconditionally" apologized to Ocasio-Cortez. The Nationals acknowledged the situation as "an honest mistake" that was "not politically motivated."
But Ocasio-Cortez said in response to the video in a series of tweets Tuesday evening that "words matter, and can have consequences for safety."
The Grizzlies' loss of Dos Equis and Tecate beers as sponsors comes on the heels of the raisin company Sun-Maid pulling its corporate sponsorship on Wednesday.
Dos Equis said in a Twitter statement: "We are disheartened to learn of the views expressed in the video that aired during Monday’s Fresno Grizzlies game, as they do not reflect our core values. We have ended our relationship with the team, effective immediately, and we have informed them accordingly."
We are disheartened to learn of the views expressed in the video that aired during Monday’s Fresno Grizzlies game, as they do not reflect our core values. We have ended our relationship with the team, effective immediately, and we have informed them accordingly.
Tecate added over Twitter: "Tecate has always been about togetherness and we do not support the views expressed in the video, that was aired during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Memorial day. We have ended this relationship effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision."
The Fresno Bee reported that sponsors Save Mart and GAR Tootelian are maintaining their relationships with the Grizzlies.
Tecate has always been about togetherness and we do not support the views expressed in the video, that was aired during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Memorial day. We have ended this relationship effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision.
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