Milwaukee Alderman Khalif Rainey is calling the standing ovation of support for Brewer's pitcher Josh Hader "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."
Rainey is referring to the standing ovation some fans at Miller Park gave Hader at Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Hader's return to the game after racist and homophobic tweets he wrote when he was 17 surfaced during the All-Star game.
"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," said fan Joseph Hoplguin.
The Brewers did not return our request for comment on Rainey's statement.
