Christians Thrown Out of Veterans Stadium during "Gay Comm

Christians Thrown Out: Baseball Execs Eject Biblical Message from Homosexual Event

By Jim Brown
August 18, 2003

(AgapePress) - Four Christians were recently kicked out of Veterans Stadium during the Philadelphia Phillies' "Gay Community Day."

Last Tuesday, Michael Marcavage and three friends brought a banner to the ballpark that read "Homosexuality is sin, Christ can set you free." He says their intention was to share that biblical message of hope with homosexuals who were at the stadium.

Seven minutes after unfurling their banner from their centerfield seats, however, the group was approached by security. Marcavage says the four were told that they could not display their banner.

"They basically said that the [Phillies] executives said this banner must come down. And we questioned them, asking why because there were other banners in the stadium as well," he says.

Marcavage says while their banner with its Christian message was prohibited, several other banners were permitted in the park that day, including an oversized rainbow flag waved by a homosexual man. Marcavage says he and his friends challenged the singling out of their group when others in the park were being allowed to display their messages without incident.

"We basically questioned them, asking if they could have their banners, why couldn't we have ours. They said 'Well, it's the content of the message,'" Marcavage explains.

He speculates that the Philadelphia team's corporate owners may have feared negative publicity. In any case, based on the Christian group's choice to display a message from the Word of God that might have convicted some members of the crowd, Phillies executives decided that neither the banner nor its bearers had any place in the park. Shortly after security ordered them to take down their banner, the four were escorted from the stadium.

Marcavage says although they were asked to leave the ballpark, they did have their money refunded and each received a free ticket to another Phillies game.

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