Nick Adenhart was a 22-year-old pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Shortly after midnight on April 9 in Fullerton, Calif., a drunk driver ran a red light and struck a car Adenhart was riding in, killing the driver and one passenger instantly. The drunk driver was unharmed, and fled the scene on foot. Adenhart was seriously injured and was taken to the University of California Irvine Medical Center, where he died.
Since then, the Angels have posted a mural of Nick Adenhart on one of their stadium walls, and the team has worn patches with his number on their jerseys.’
The team also travels with his jersey, and they have kept his locker at Angel Stadium unoccupied. The team has been very respectful in the way they have handled the situation and their mourning.
But did they cross the line Monday night?
After the Angels clinched the American League West division, they moved their celebration out of the clubhouse to Adenhart’s mural on the outfield wall. They smiled, cheered, shook up their beer cans and celebrated. They also poured celebratory alcohol on Adenhart’s carefully preserved jersey.
‘What were the Angels thinking by pouring beer and champagne over the jersey of a player killed by an alleged drunk driver? They were celebrating with a friend, partying the way baseball players do,’ the Los Angeles Times’ Steve Bisheff said in an article published yesterday.
The celebration was controversial and almost ignores the issue of drunk driving, a key factor in how Adenhart died.
Should the Angels have changed up their tribute for their fallen teammate? They could have made a statement by changing their celebration.
They could have doused the entire locker-room in water. Now that would have been a statement.
But if Adenhart’s family is supportive, that’s all that really matters. Fans, foes and the general public don’t hold too much clout here.
