Pirates admit to horrific Roberto Clemente gaffe after being called out

It is safe to say that the Pittsburgh Pirates are an organization that, at best, is tone deaf when it comes to public relations. Ownership seems too busy rolling around in their money in their basement to hear the cries from fans (and really everyone) to actually invest in their roster. Instead, the group is content to be the least competitively relevant sports team in a city with such a rich and vibrant sports environment.

The one difference between the Pirates and other perennially terrible teams is that things weren't always this way. The franchise has five World Series titles, with the most recent coming in 1979, and was winning division titles as recently as the early 1990's.

There are many fans who remember those times and those players, with no player being held with more reverence than Roberto Clemente.

Clemente's storied career has been well-chronicled, and he is in the pantheon of the greatest players to have ever played the game of baseball. He is rightly celebrated across the league, but somehow the Pirates found a way to even screw that up. It was recently revealed that one of the panels on the right field wall that honored Clemente has inexplicably been replaced by an ad for Surfside, a canned cocktail company.

Pirates decision to replace Roberto Clemente display is rightly getting blasted by pretty much everyone

Suffice it to say, this decision has been met with universal ire from the masses. Even Roberto Clemente's son expressed shock at the decision, and only the most delusional out there have chosen to ignore the gross cash grab. After receiving backlash from all directions on Saturday, the Pirates' statement on the matter was very on brand.

Of course the Pirates said a lot of nice things about Clemente and his life while discussing the other ways he is honored around the park. However, instead backing off of the joyless greed play, Pirates Senior Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting Brian Warecki had the following to say:

"The temporary wall sign in question was put in place prior to the 2022 season and was never meant to be a permanent tribute, simply another cap tip to “The Great One.” We apologize that we didn’t directly communicate that fact to the Clemente family and our fans.”

Any other sane organization would have said that it was a mistake to replace a panel honoring Clemente, they would revert the change, and that they would find another way to honor their commitment to their advertising partner. Instead, the Pirates doubled down on the decision, and made the specious at best claim that the panel was always meant to be temporary. Congratulations Surfside, you have now been made the face of disrespecting Roberto Clemente and his family. Hope your advertising dollars got you what you wanted.

For the 10-12 Pirates fans out there that will gobble up whatever propaganda owner Bob Nutting and co. feed them, this might work as an explanation. Everyone else that has been following how the Pirates have conducted themselves in recent years is making their displeasure known. Perhaps this is what it takes to create real change...going right after Nutting's wallet.

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