A fan ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium on Friday night while waving a Palestinian flag, briefly halting the opening game of the Subway Series.
The New York Yankees were hosting the Mets in the Bronx as the city marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, adding a solemn backdrop to one of baseball’s fiercest crosstown matchups.
The disruption unfolded at 9:11 p.m., according to The Athletic, turning the emotionally charged night into a scene of controversy.
Wearing a baseball jersey with the words “No Kings” across the front, the man sprinted across the outfield carrying the flag, drawing immediate boos and anger from sections of the Yankee Stadium crowd.
Security personnel quickly pursued him, and four guards eventually tackled him in the outfield before removing him from play.
As he was being detained, fans inside the stadium broke into chants of “USA,” while others shouted profanity in his direction.
A fan ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium while waving a Palestinian flag
The interruption took place during the first game of the Subway Series on September 11
The Yankees hosted the New York Mets as New York marked the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
Some spectators appeared to throw drinks toward the man as stadium security escorted him off the field.
The incident occurred in the seventh inning, interrupting a game played on a particularly sensitive and emotional evening for New York City.
The Mets and Yankees met on a night dedicated to remembering 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
The Yankees hosted an emotional pregame ceremony as the teams remembered the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Before players took to the field, members of the Yankees’ 2001 team, including Derek Jeter, led the pregame tributes to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Mariano Rivera and Jeter along with manager Joe Torre walked onto the field in their former pinstripe jerseys.
The pennant-winning players joined the servicemen and women, including honor guards from the NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD, who carried out the presentation of colors as a giant American flag was unfurled in the outfield.
Earlier in the afternoon, Jeter was joined by current Yankees captain Aaron Judge and pitcher Gerrit Cole as the trio laid a commemorative wreath beside the 9/11 monument in Monument Park at the ballpark.
The invading fan was eventually brought down by members of security staff in the outfield
Derek Jeter led the New York Yankees legends hosting the 9/11 remembrance ceremony
The New York Yankees paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of the attacks
Even once the game got underway, the tributes continued. Both the Mets and Yankees players sported navy caps with either ‘FDNY’ embroidered in red stitching or ‘NYPD’ in yellow on the front in honor of the city’s first responders who lost and risked their lives in the heroic rescue efforts at the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
The Pinstripes’ pregame ceremony of remembrance featured a performance by Lee Greenwood.
The country music singer, 83, performed his hit song, ‘God Bless the USA,’ which became an anthem of the grieving nation in the wake of the attacks.
Prior to Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, Greenwood stood at home plate of the original Yankee Stadium and performed the song as a powerful tribute to the victims and first responders. On the 25th anniversary, he reprised the rendition.
His performance was followed by the national anthem, which was sung by internationally acclaimed opera tenor James Valenti.
In stirring scenes, Valenti reduced fans both at home and inside the stadium to tears with his rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner on the emotional occasion.
‘Made it through the day without tearing up till that beautiful rendition, God Bless America,’ one Mets fan account wrote in response to a clip of the performance.
‘That national anthem performed ahead of @Mets vs. @Yankees at Yankee Stadium was so beautiful. Nice job, Yankees,’ one social media user posted.
A Mets fan wipes a tear from her eye during the pregame commemoration at Yankee Stadium
Fans of the Pinstripes unfurl a banner during the 9/11 tributes at Yankee Stadium
Another shared: ‘This Yankee team and these young kids should be inspired and motivated by what is taking place at Yankee stadium right now. Legends walking out on the field, Derek Jeter walking out of the dugout, and Lee Greenwood singing to open this series. God Bless our country.’
Meanwhile, others branded it ‘awesome’ and ‘incredible’ as they hailed the rendition on social media.
The ceremonial first pitches will be thrown by Brielle Saracini, and her husband, Sean McGuire. Saracini’s father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, where McGuire’s father, Patrick, was working on the 84th floor.
Both Saracini and McGuire were 10 years old when they lost their fathers, and the couple met two years later at Camp Better Days, which was established to provide support for children who lost a parent in the tragedy. Saracini and McGuire were married on September 9, 2017.
Just three days after her father’s passing, Saracini wrote a letter to Derek Jeter detailing her family’s deeply personal loss, explaining that her dad would want her to realize her dream of meeting him. When the letter reached Jeter, he invited her and her family to attend a game.
