When reached by The Huffington Post on Monday morning, SI Yankees president Jane Rogers said, “There was never any intent to cause controversy or ill-will feelings toward anyone in the community or outside the community."
"It’s how we treat any group that comes to the ballpark for fundraising efforts," she continued. "We do this constantly with many, many groups. It was never a matter of favoring one group over another."
“We wanted to raise money for the families," added Holley over the phone on Monday. "[Blue Lives Matter] weren’t handing out any propaganda. There were no political motives."
He also noted that any event, no matter who or what cause it's supporting, must make sense in a "ballpark setting." Blue Lives Matter wanted to have the Liu and Ramos families throw out the first pitch, so to the SI Yankees, the promotion seemed like a good fit.
On the auspicious timing of the event, Holley said it was a "coincidence" that Blue Lives Matter Day was scheduled on the anniversary of Michael Brown's death.
"It was a very unfortunate coincidence. [Blue Lives Matter] wanted the matchup against Brooklyn, because the attendance is usually better. This just happened to be the only Sunday [the SI Yankees host the Cyclones] in August." Holley said.
When asked to clarify earlier comments that he'd be "thrilled" to entertain a "fundraiser to support the fallen on all sides of any conflict," -- specifically if the SI Yankees would be open to a "Black Lives Matter Day" -- Holley said, “We’re definitely open to any type of fundraiser to support people in the community."
