The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus performed a velvety rendition of the National Anthem ahead of the San Diego Padres’ matchup with the Miami Marlins Friday on OUT at The Park night at Petco Park.
Before a May game last season, the choral group was staged in center field ready to sing the anthem when the Padres’ DJ, DJ Artform, mistakenly played a prerecorded version. The group was left to stand silent in the outfield as the anthem, sung by a single woman, echoed throughout the stadium.
The Padres, and DJ Artform, faced immediate backlash from the community and DJ Artform was subsequently fired for the mishap. Major League Baseball stepped in, too, and launched an independent investigation of the incident.
The Gay Men’s Chorus took to facebook following the blunder, saying that what was supposed to be a joyful night “turned into a nightmare raising serious questions about homophobia within the San Diego Padres organization and its relationship with the LGBT community.”
Further looks into the matter revealed that the audio mix-up was a mistake, which DJ Artform and the Padres maintained all along, and DJ Artform’s heartfelt apology to the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was accepted.
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The group took it one step further and pleaded for the Padres to rehire DJ Artform after accepting the apology, and the Padres obliged.
Two months later, DJ Artform was invited to San Diego Pride festival and performed over the weekend.
On Friday, the Gay Men’s Chorus performed alongside the San Diego Women’s Chorus, San Diego Pride and Padres staff.
