Minor League Baseball Team Loses Top Sponsor After Scoreboard Video Compares AOC To Kim And Castro

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Sun-Maid, the popular raisin company with deep roots in the central San Joaquin Valley, has terminated its partnership with the Fresno Grizzlies.

Sun-Maid announced its termination Wednesday evening, citing the Grizzlies’ Memorial Day debacle when the minor league baseball club aired a video tribute that equated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the likes of North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un and former Cuban president Fidel Castro.

“We are deeply disappointed by the Memorial Day tribute video the Fresno Grizzlies aired on Monday,” Sun-Maid said in an email sent to The Bee via public relations agency Havas Formula. “Sun-Maid does not support the views or sentiments expressed in the video, nor does it condone the airing of it.

The Grizzlies are the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Per their front office, they are “embarrassed and unconditionally apologize” to AOC for not vetting the video before it played. My first report on the incident is here.

The raisin company Sun-Maid announced late Wednesday that it is terminating its sponsorship of the Fresno Grizzlies because of the Memorial Day video showing Ocasio-Cortez among America’s ‘enemies of freedom’ https://t.co/zH8YSadeLA

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) May 30, 2019

Fresno Grizzlies lose big-name sponsorship because of Memorial Day video debacle https://t.co/J7MbyXPqni

— Fresno Bee (@FresnoBee) May 30, 2019