A
Texas Rangers fan who directed racist comments and derogatory gestures at a Hispanic family during a game Saturday has been indefinitely banned from the team's games at Globe Life Park.
The Rangers said in a statement Friday that, after reviewing information about the incident, "we are notifying the individual that he violated the club's fan code of conduct and is indefinitely prohibited from attending Rangers home games."
The team said it would have no further comment.
Shortly after Saturday's game against the
Detroit Tigers, Jessica Romero posted to Facebook that during the game a man made racist comments about Hispanics and intentionally made profane gestures in the background of photos her family was taking in the upper-deck bleachers. She included one of the photos in her post.
The Rangers offered the Romeros tickets to any home game in 2019, saying they would "make their next trip to Globe Life Park a memorable and enjoyable experience."
The team also released a statement condemning the fan's conduct.
"The Rangers are committed to providing all of our guests with a safe and enjoyable experience and we are truly sorry that this family was subjected to this offensive behavior at Saturday's game," the team said. "There is no place at Globe Life Park in Arlington for this type of conduct to occur."
Rangers center fielder
Delino DeShields was among the players to express concern over what happened.
"That's definitely not OK, especially when this is supposed to be the greatest country in the world," DeShields told reporters. "I feel like everyone should be treated equally, especially at a sporting event when people want to come to enjoy a baseball game or a football game or whatever it is."
Romero said that after posting her account on Facebook, she had received support from people all over the country.
"It's kind of amazing to me how kind people are and the words they're sending," she told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
