The sensitivity over racial tensions in St. Louis spilled into its Major League Baseball team's facility.
NESN.com reported Monday that the St. Louis Cardinals mascot, Fredbird, drew sharp criticism for a sign he held up that said "Police Lives Matter."
The phrase is thought to be a response to the slogan," Black Lives Matter" that resurfaced after the incident in Ferguson, Mo., in which a grand jury in the St. Louis suburb found police officer Darren Wilson not guilty in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
At one point, the St. Louis Police Officers Association posted the photo on its Facebook page, but after the Cardinals were received numerous complaints, they asked the association to take down the photo, and the association complied.
Fox News reported that the Cardinals drew both criticism and support for their request. The team said the photo came about when a couple asked Fredbird to pose for a picture and asked him to hold a sign.
"A man and a woman stopped Fredbird to request a quick photograph," Ron Watermon, vice president of communications for the team, said, according to Fox News. "While the man was taking the picture, the woman standing next to Fredbird asked him to hold up the sign. Fredbird was unaware of the content of the sign."
The Cardinals have since issued an apology on the photo, saying the mascot should not be involved in any political activity or social commentary.
Deadspin accused the photo of being a retort to the "Black Lives Matter" and said, "the phrase is an at best crypto-racist way of dismissing legitimate anger about police violence in black communities."
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