San Diego Padres left fielder Tommy Pham is no stranger to heckling, but he says there were Cincinnati Reds fans who crossed a line during Tuesday’s game at Great American Ball Park.
After the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday, Pham approached a police officer next to the visitor’s dugout and pointed out a fan. The police officer, on the field, walked to the fan’s section and chatted with the fan for about 20 seconds between innings. The fan was not ejected, though two other officers briefly stood near the fan in the crowd.
“Just some fans crossing the line,” Pham said. “I guess a little liquid courage, man. I had some fans yelling at me, ‘F you, Pham! F you, Pham!’ That’s my issue that I have. I don’t believe that should be tolerated in a baseball stadium.
“When you start cursing at me, it’s one thing. It’s different from ‘Pham sucks.’ That’s perfectly acceptable. The curse words, I have a problem with because that’s not something you would say to me face to face. Where I'm from, in the state of Nevada, it’s labeled as assault. Someone comes up to me, cursing at me like that, I could defend myself. I’m a very good fighter. I don’t do Muay Thai, Kung Fu and box for no reason.”
Earlier this season, Pham told the San Diego Union-Tribune that “the vulgarity this year, the gestures, I’ve never seen it at this level.” He had a fan removed from a game in Houston.
Pham said it's common to hear taunts about an incident where he was stabbed in the offseason, which required surgery. He recently settled a lawsuit with the San Diego nightclub for security negligence.
There have been some high-profile unruly fan incidents in the past couple of months throughout sports. In the NBA, a fan dumped popcorn over Russell Westbrook’s head in a playoff game when Westbrook was leaving the court with an ankle injury. One fan was arrested for throwing a water bottle at Kyrie Irving after a game ended. Three fans were banned from Utah Jazz games for a “verbal altercation” directed an opposing player’s family.
“MLB needs to step up,” Pham said. “I don’t know if they need to provide ushers. If an usher hears any vulgarity, then that person needs to be tossed. People feel like they’re entitled right now and it’s really a privilege to even be at the game, like it’s a privilege for me to play this game. People forget that.”
When Pham returned to left field for the eighth inning Monday, there was a chant from the fans around him, “Tommy sucks! Tommy sucks!” Pham knows to expect that part of it. He didn’t appear to engage with nearby fans in the final two innings after approaching the police officer.
“The curse words is what’s new; you always get heckled,” said Pham, noting he was a part of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs rivalry for several years. “The curse words is just unreal.”
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