The Colorado Rockies say that a fan did not yell racial slurs during Sunday’s game against the Miami Marlins and that the man instead was shouting at the team’s mascot.
The Rockies said Sunday that they were “disgusted” at what was widely believed to be a racial slur directed at Miami’s Lewis Brinson, who is Black. But the organization told ESPN on Monday that the fan was shouting at Dinger, the team’s dinosaur-themed mascot.
A source confirmed to ESPN that the Rockies reached out and spoke to the fan as part of the team’s investigation of the incident. The Rockies also contacted another fan sitting near the man, who also told the team that the man was shouting “Dinger,” according to the source.
Denver-based television station 9News first reported Monday that the Rockies had concluded their investigation into Sunday’s incident.
Microphones on the Bally Sports Florida telecast picked up the fan yelling during Brinson’s at-bat in the ninth inning.
Marlins spokesman Jason Latimer told The Associated Press via text message on Sunday that “neither Lewis, nor any other Marlins on the field or in the dugout, heard what was shouted.”