by WorldTribune Staff, September 23, 2024 Contract With Our Readers
“Meet the Mets. Meet the Mets. Step right up and greet the Mets! Bring your kiddies. Bring your wife. Guaranteed to have the time of your life …”
Unless you’re a black individual wearing a MAGA hat.
Aura Moody, a Republican from Queens who supports GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, is suing the New York Mets for $2 million in damages after allegedly being prohibited from entering Citi Field until she removed her “Make America Great Again” hat, the New York Post reported on Saturday.
Moody stated that, on Aug. 14, she and her friend attended a Mets game, both wearing MAGA hats, alongside eight members of the Queens Village Republican Club. After passing through security, a stadium staffer allegedly told them they couldn’t enter while wearing the hats. When Moody invoked her First Amendment rights, the staffer reportedly told her the hat was “too political” to be worn inside.
According to court filings, Moody said she and her friend agreed to remove their hats to avoid inconveniencing their group. Moody asked if she could place the hat in her bag but was allegedly told, “No because you can put the hat back on when you get to your seat. You have to take the MAGA hat out of the stadium.”
In her legal filing, Moody claimed she “knew she was being racially targeted and politically retaliated against for being a black woman wearing a MAGA hat, so she requested to speak to a supervisor.” The supervisor allegedly confirmed that the hat violated stadium policy. Ultimately, Moody and her friend had to call a friend they carpooled with to place the hats in the car.
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Moody claimed that once she was seated for the game she noticed “white persons wearing MAGA hats and MAGA attire” in the stadium.
The Mets initially acknowledged the incident, saying the employee had made an error regarding the stadium’s attire policy. “We are reaching out to Aura Moody to apologize and invite her back to the ballpark,” the team said.
The Mets also apologized to Moody over the phone, confirming there is no policy against wearing MAGA hats and stating that the staff had been retrained. However, they have not commented on the lawsuit, per the New York Post.
“This country is supposed to be the beacon of freedom for all,” Moody said.
Black Mets fan sues after being denied entry to game with MAGA hat added by Editor Two on
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