A Giants fan who threw a banana at an Orioles player has apologized and says it was completely misconstrued.
Alexander Poulides says that he did throw a banana at Orioles center fielder Adam Jones but that it wasn’t racially motivated at all, but rather a commentary on his team’s performance after they got beaten 10-2.
“I’m embarrassed and shocked by the outcome,” Poulides told the Mercury News. “In hindsight, I wish I didn’t do it and I apologize. I’m very sorry.”
Reps for the Giants released a statement of their own before Poulides accepted responsibility for the incident, saying, “We were extremely disappointed to learn about the incident involving Adam Jones at AT&T Park yesterday. The Giants have a zero tolerance policy against this type of behavior, which results in immediate ejection from the ballpark. While we have been investigating the matter since we learned of the situation, unfortunately we have been unable to identify the person responsible. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to Adam and the entire Orioles organization for this unfortunate incident. The inappropriate actions of this individual in no way reflect the values of our organization and our fans.”
While the choice of food thrown at an African-American player was an unfortunate one, Jones says he’s more concerned about the safety aspect of the incident and the fact that anything was thrown onto the field.
“I personally don’t have no hard feelings about it. It’s just an unfortunate thing that happened,” Jones said. “You never know what kind of things can be thrown at a player. Our backs are turned. You never know what can be thrown in our direction. I just look at it as a safety issue. When my back is turned, I don’t know what is going on there, so we just look at it as a liability. Whatever certain object it was, I could care less. I’ve got a bigger concern on my head than someone’s ignorance or act of whatever.”