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Amy Bass: Baltimore rioting caused postponement of two Orioles-White Sox games. Now third game of series will be played to empty stadium
She says baseball can bring cities together. But with so few black fans, players, it will be hard for Baltimore to gather around this sport to heal
(CNN) —
It seems almost silly to be writing about baseball in the context of recent events. Except it isn’t.
Last weekend, as Baltimore reacted to the death of Freddie Gray, the young man who died last week from a spinal cord injury he suffered while in police custody, Major League Baseball had a problem on its hands. Saturday’s game between the Orioles and Red Sox had gone into extra innings in Camden Yards, with plenty of fans for both teams glued to their seats.
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Rodney Bedsole
Amy Bass
Boston fans feel at home in Oriole Park – a so-called retro urban park built to embrace the luxuries of modern stadiums while maintaining that nostalgic feel – because much of it was based on Boston’s Fenway Park. The Boston faithful are used to being in the heart of a city to watch sports. But when the Orioles finally pulled out a win in the 10th inning, 36,000 fans remained in their seats. They had been asked to do so by Baltimore officials due to “ongoing public safety issues.”
The riots of Baltimore, the peaceful marches of Baltimore, the fury and unrest of Baltimore did not seem to have had much to do with baseball. But as the always-wise Atlantic magazine writer (and Baltimore native) Ta-Nehisi Coates’ take on the situation quickly went viral, it became clear that the Oriole’s home stand presented a problem.
Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox: postponed less than an hour before the first pitch.
Tuesday’s game against the White Sox: also postponed.
02:06 - Source: CNN
Baltimore Orioles game closed to fans Wednesday
Such action by MLB is not without precedent. In 1967 in Detroit, the 12th Street riots forced the Tigers to postpone one game and relocate others (to Baltimore, no less). After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., MLB postponed opening day games out of fear of mob violence. In the wake of the 1992 verdict in the Rodney King beating, the Los Angeles Dodgers postponed several games. The entire league went on hiatus in the wake of the terrorism and violence of September 11, 2001.
Politics threaten sports all the time. From the demonstrations against the Brazilian government before last summer’s World Cup to the massacre of protesting students days before the Opening Ceremony of the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, sports knows well that it sits within the larger context of the world.
Our deep investment in our teams – beyond the tax dollars that construct the stadiums and the salaries players make (and the profits the owners and sponsors draw) – is supposed to work to create community, to unify. Cheering for the home team is supposed to create a sense of belonging.
“It’s interesting that I have not yet heard anyone say that baseball or sport can heal this wound,” Daniel Nathan, professor of American Studies at Skidmore College and editor of “Rooting for the Home Team: Sport, Community and Identity” told me. “People did say that in the weeks after 9/11. This is not 9/11 – not even close. But it is a serious social and cultural rupture. Painful.”
What happens next is striking. After two postponements, the Orioles will play Chicago on Wednesday, but no one else will be invited. In an unprecedented move by major league baseball, the public is not invited to the final game of the series, moved to the afternoon in accordance with the curfew imposed by Baltimore’s mayor.
While there are a few examples of fan-less games being played in the United States, none have been for such reasons, while in Europe, there have been a handful of incidents in which soccer teams have been punished for fan behavior with fan-less games.
Photos: Baltimore protests
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People hold hands during a rally at Baltimore City Hall on Sunday, May 3. The death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, sparked rioting in Baltimore and protests across the country.
Photos: Baltimore protests
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Members of the National Guard board a truck at an armory staging area on May 3 in Baltimore. After a night of relatively peaceful protests, the city lifted a curfew, the National Guard is preparing its exit and a mall that had been a flashpoint in the protests has been reopened.
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Medics take a man away after police pepper-sprayed him on Saturday, May 2, in Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested in April.
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Police detain a man on May 2 in Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood.
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Protesters hold signs on May 2 in the Sandtown neighborhood.
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Protesters march from the Gilmor Homes housing community, where Freddie Gray was arrested, to City Hall on Saturday, May 2, in Baltimore.
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Police in riot gear enforce a 10 p.m. curfew and clear Baltimore streets of protesters and media on Friday, May 1.
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U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, helps clear Baltimore streets of protesters on May 1.
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Demonstrators celebrate the announcement that six officers were charged May 1 in Gray's death.
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Demonstrators march through the streets of Baltimore after the charges against the officers were announced May 1.
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Police on horseback block a Baltimore street on May 1.
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A demonstrator celebrates in Baltimore the charges were announced on May 1.
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A member of the National Guard stands outside Baltimore City Hall as protesters gather on Wednesday, April 29.
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High school and college students march from Baltimore's Penn Station to City Hall on April 29.
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A community organizer later identified as Joseph Kent paces in front of riot police with his hands up during a curfew in Baltimore on Tuesday, April 28. Moments later, he was seen being arrested by police live on CNN. Kent's lawyer said on April 30 that his client had been released from jail. While some protesters defied the curfew and faced off with police, demonstrations Tuesday were largely peaceful.
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State Sen. Catherine E. Pugh embraces a protester while urging the crowd to disperse ahead of the 10 p.m. curfew.
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People attempt to stop protesters from approaching a police line on April 28.
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A Baltimore police captain tries to calm a protester on April 28.
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Two women sweep up the streets in Baltimore -- reflected in the broken window of a storefront on April 28. See more photos of the cleanup efforts.
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A band plays music during protests on April 28 in Baltimore.
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A boy in Baltimore offers water to a police officer on April 28.
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Jerrie Mckenny, left, and her sister Tia Sexton embrace as demonstrators hold hands and sing the hymn "Amazing Grace" in Baltimore on April 28.
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Demonstrators stand in front of a police line and call for peace after a bottle was thrown on April 28.
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Maryland National Guardsmen patrol the streets on April 28.
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The remains of a senior center smolder on April 28. Riots broke out Monday, April 27, after Freddie Gray's funeral.
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Police retreat from burned-out cars in an intersection on Monday, April 27.
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Firefighters respond to a burning building during the riots late April 27.
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A police officer walks by a burning building on April 27.
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Police stand guard on April 27.
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Protesters climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street near the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27.
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A mixture of milk and water rolls down a man's chest after he was pepper sprayed by the Baltimore Police April 27.
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A man rides a bicycle through heavy smoke emitting from a nearby store on fire April 27.
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A man shouts for calm as protesters clash with police April 27.
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Police carry an injured officer from the streets near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27.
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People carrying goods leave a CVS pharmacy near Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27.
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A demonstrator raises his fist as police stand in formation on April 27.
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Armored cars drive down Pennsylvania Avenue as looters break into shops on April 27.
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People lock arms and form a line opposing police at the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27.
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Police form a barrier between protesters and a burning CVS being attended to by firefighters on April 27.
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People carry goods out of a CVS pharmacy on April 27.
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A police vehicle burns April 27.
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A police officer throws an object at protesters on April 27.
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A man carries items from a store as police vehicles burn on April 27.
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A police officer checks on a man who was injured on April 27.
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A police officer is carried to safety after being hit in the head with a rock during the riot on April 27.
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A police officer uses pepper spray on rioters on April 27.
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Police officers push back a protester on April 27.
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Police react during the riot on April 27.
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Baltimore police officers in riot gear look toward protesters near Mondawmin Mall on April 27.
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Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts chases away protesters in a parking lot on April 27.
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A woman abandons her car in the middle of an intersection as Baltimore Police officers clash with protesters outside the Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27.
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Police handle the protesters during a riot on April 27.
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A demonstrator taunts police on April 27.
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Protesters stand off with police during a march in honor of Gray in Baltimore on Saturday, April 25.
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A protester throws a barricade at a bar near Oriole Park at Camden Yards after a rally on April 25.
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Protesters chase after a car as it drives in reverse after the rally on April 25.
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A protester breaks a store window after the rally in Baltimore on April 25.
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Protesters get into a shoving match with police during a march downtown on April 25.
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Protesters and police square off April 25.
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Protesters drive through the Camden Yards area on April 25.
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Members of the Baltimore Police Department stand guard Thursday, April 23, outside the department's Western District station during a protest.
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A police officer films protesters from the steps of the Western District station on April 23.
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Empowerment Temple Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant speaks in front of City Hall in Baltimore on April 23.
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Demonstrators put their fists in the air during a protest outside the Baltimore police's Western District station on Wednesday, April 22.
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Hundreds of demonstrators march toward the Western District station on April 22.
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People march through the streets of Baltimore on April 22.
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Demonstrators argue with Baltimore officers during the protest on April 22.
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A woman is comforted during the protest on April 22.
Without fans, does baseball mean anything?
When the new Camden Yards made its debut in 1992, people heralded the return of the old-time stadium smack in the middle of the city. But are the re