A young man refusing to stand for the National Anthem at Wrigley Field during Sunday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins got some sense beaten into him, captured in a viral video.
In the clip, an older man standing behind the seated fan repeatedly tells him to stand for the Anthem.
But when the younger fan refused to stand and turned his head away, the man smacked him in the back of the head, prompting him to stand.
“What was that for?” the man said after being struck. The older fan appeared to respond, “Stand up. Just shut up.”
The two exchanged some more words as offended bystanders also intervened.
Via Fox:
The fans reportedly resolved the incident, and the younger fan did not ask security to take any action, according to a statement from the Cubs.
“We encourage every fan to stand, if they are able, and to remove their caps while the anthem is being played,” a Cubs spokesperson said, noting that their code of conduct still “prohibits physical confrontations and threatening behavior.”
Per NBC:
In a statement, the Cubs said security officers spoke to the fan who had been struck, and he told the team the matter had been “resolved” and that he did not wish for any further action to be taken.
“The National Anthem is an important tradition at Chicago Cubs games,” a Cubs spokesperson said. “While we respect the rights of individuals to decide for themselves, we encourage every fan to stand, if they are able, and to remove their caps while the anthem is being played. At the same time, the safety and security of our fans is our top priority. We expect all guests to treat one another with respect and to follow our Fan Code of Conduct, which prohibits physical confrontations and threatening behavior. Our security team spoke with the fan who had been struck. He indicated that the matter had been resolved, he did not want to have anyone ejected from the ballpark or any further action taken, and we respected his wishes.”
In response to a request for comment from NBC, Chicago police said no officers were called to the ballpark, and no report was filed due to the incident.
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