MLBPA Reviewing Player Safety Protocols After Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. Rushed by Fans
August 29, 2023
Player and fan safety has been thrust into the MLB spotlight after a shooting at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field and an incident where two fans ran onto the field and made contact with Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in Denver's Coors Field.
On Tuesday, the MLBPA released a statement saying it will review team and stadium safety protocols, as it does every year, to help prevent "the possibility of similar future incidents."
Evan Drellich of The Athletic relayed the statement.
"The Players Association takes player safety very seriously. Following security incidents, including those on field, our director of security is in immediate contact with MLB security and local authorities where appropriate. In addition to our security experts, our PA player services staff is in daily contact with players — providing updates and any relevant information. While the details of the recent incidents in Chicago and Denver are still under investigation, we will be reviewing the club and stadium protocols currently in place, as we do throughout every season, to mitigate the possibility of similar future incidents."
Two women suffered gunshot wounds on Friday night during the fourth inning of an Oakland A's at White Sox game. Per Fox 32, a 42-year-old was shot in the leg. In addition, a 26-year-old suffered a graze wound to her abdomen.
ESPN's Peggy Kusinski provided more information:
Peggy Kusinski @peggykusinskiAs I reported on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPN1000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPN1000</a> just now… the shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field during a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteSox?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteSox</a> game was indeed an accidental discharge by one of the women "grazed" by the bullet. She reportedly snuck the gun in past metal detectors hiding it in the folds of her belly fat.
The game continued despite the shooting, and the A's finished the night with a 12-4 win.
In Denver on Monday, a fan ran out to Acuña while he was in right field and gave him a hug. Another fan then rushed Acuña as the player, fans and security personnel all got tangled up. Acuña fell to the ground but did not suffer any injuries.
The fans didn't appear as if they wanted to do any harm, but it was still an unsettling incident for the National League MVP candidate.
"I was a little scared at first," Acuna said via an interpreter (h/t ESPN News Services). "I think the fans were out there and asking for pictures. I really couldn't say anything because at that point, security was already there and we were already kind of tangled up, but security was able to get there and everything's OK. We're all OK, and I hope they're OK."
Acuña stayed in the game and finished the 14-4 win over Colorado by going 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI.