Pair Strike Out in Attempt to Protest Ballpark Ejection

A pair of businessmen ejected from San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium during a baseball game June 10 complained about stadium security to the Stadium Authority Board on Thursday morning, to little avail.

Stadium Manager Bill Wilson and members of the nine-person board refused to take a position, saying it was the responsibility of the host team--in this case, the San Diego Padres--to hire security, so the men should consult the Padres.

But Padres officials at the meeting offered terse “no comments,” refusing to discuss the case with the media or members of the board.

Afterwards, real estate developer Michael Alessio and businessman Phil Palisoul said they were taken from the stands during a Sunday afternoon Padres game and placed in a holding cell earmarked for drunks after they allegedly insulted two members of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Palisoul said the incident came about after he and Alessio, who attended the game with their Little League sons, “engaged in what I would call harmless chiding or heckling of the (Dodgers’) players. But it was not obscene or anything. You know, it was just stuff you would do to the opposing team.

“There was nothing you could even remotely construe as a racial slur (which Dodgers outfielder Hubie Brooks had alleged). That was the furthest thing from anything that was said.”

Palisoul said that, after Brooks popped up in the eighth inning of the 2-1 Padres victory, he said, “ ‘Nice hit, Hubie,’ and then he said something to me. Well, then, (Dodgers manager Tom) Lasorda jumped out and started screaming at me, and it was very profane stuff.”

Palisoul said that Lasorda and Brooks then summoned a security guard and asked that the two be removed. He said they were held in the holding cell for “about 15 minutes” and were made to wait outside until the end of the game.

“I would like an open, public apology from the Padres,” Alessio said, “saying that it was wrong and that it would never happen again. So far, I haven’t gotten it.”

Alessio said he is considering legal action.