SAN DIEGO (CNS) - On the heels of a flap in which the Padres played the wrong recording of the national anthem while the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was on the field, another community group Friday claimed mistreatment at the hands of the ballclub.
Organizers of the Filipino Heritage Night on June 4 said they feel "disrespected" following a series of last-minute changes ordered by team officials involving locations and performance times, according to Lauren Garces of Silk Road Productions.
"Many performers, all of whom were volunteering, yet still had to buy their own tickets to get in, were either cut short or completely from the schedule due to the Padres' last-minute addition of a non-Filipino band performing in between each scheduled act," Garces said in a statement sent to media outlets.
She said the Padres rejected suggestions of how to stage the event "cohesively."
"Almost none of the acts were allowed to perform on stage, and headliner Katriz Trinidad, a former contestant on 'The Voice,' was reduced to a mere 30 seconds," Garces said.
Padres spokeswoman Shana Wilson said she was surprised at the statement because the team hadn't received any complaints.
"Having heard the concerns expressed today, we have already reached out to those who planned the event to discuss their concerns," said Wilson, who pointed out that Garces was not one of those who worked with the Padres in setting up the event.
"The Padres have been proud to host Filipino Heritage Night annually since 2008, and we were especially proud this year to work closely with the Filipino community to grow the event," Wilson said. "Interest and demand in this year's event surpassed projections based on years past."
Wilson said the increased popularity of the event is why the team ran out of commemorative T-shirts, but more were printed up and over 200 people have come to collect them.
Last month, the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was to perform "The Star- Spangled Banner" before a game and, as is customary with large groups, planned to lip-synch to a recording. By mistake, a recording of a woman singing the national anthem was played, and chorus members were taunted by some fans as they left the field.
The error sparked negative media attention a little over a month before San Diego hosts baseball's All-Star Game.
Garces said the Filipino community wants to ensure that the Padres organization hosts similar events in a more efficient and respectful manner, and with sincere and authentic intentions.
