Heineken has become the latest big-name brand to terminate a sponsorship deal with minor league baseball team Fresno Grizzlies, following a Memorial Day video featuring New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez played at their stadium.
The beer company, which owns Tecate and Dos Equis, said it has pulled its partnership with the Class AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals over the controversy surrounding the inflammatory video, which likened Ocasio-Cortez to Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro.
During the three-minute video played in-between innings at the stadium, excerpts from former president Ronald Reagan's first inaugural speech were played. During Reagan's speech discussing "enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries," an image of the New York Democrat was shown alongside the North Korean dictator and the late president of Cuba.
"We do not support those views expressed in the video, that was aired during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Memorial Day," Heineken spokesperson Thomas Hunt told The Fresno Bee. "For that reason, we have ended this relationship, effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision."
The end of the sponsorship deal was also confirmed by the official Twitter accounts for the Dos Equis and Tecate brands.
"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," Dos Equis tweeted. "We have ended our relationship with the team, effective immediately, and we have informed them accordingly."
"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," the second beer company wrote. "We have ended this relationship effective immediately and have let the team know of our decision."
The California-based raisin company Sun-Maid previously confirmed that they have pulled their sponsorship deal with the Grizzlies over the video.
"Sun-Maid does not support the views or sentiments expressed in the video, nor does it condone the airing of it," a Sun-Maid spokesperson said. "While the Grizzlies have apologized for this mistake, we are standing on the side of what we believe is right and terminating our sponsorship of the team."
In a statement, the club said they were sorry to Ocasio-Cortez for the video, which had been "carelessly taken from YouTube" and played at the stadium without being watched in full beforehand.
"What was supposed to be a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country was overshadowed by a grievous error for which we are truly sorry," the statement said. "The criticism we have received is deserved.
"We understand the dangers and ramifications of what was shown. We have publicly apologized to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez."
The Grizzlies said the employee responsible for finding the video has been reprimanded, without elaborating further.
Jennifer Giglio, vice president of communications for the Nationals, said they are happy with the club's explanation that the video was played in error.
"Based on their investigation, it is clear to us that this was an honest mistake by a long-time employee and was not politically motivated," Giglio told The Fresno Bee. "They have put processes in place to ensure it does not happen again and we are comfortable with those procedures."
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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