Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was ejected from their 10-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon.
Umpire Joe West and his crew weren’t happy with him. And West later worked in an endorsement of President Donald Trump to explain why he kicked out the team executive.
During the seventh inning, while Rizzo was watching from the upper deck of the stadium, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt suddenly could be heard on the broadcast saying, “you’re out,” while pointing up toward the stands.
He then asked for security to be called before cameras turned to Rizzo — who was seen standing alone and not wearing a mask in a section of the stadium.
Rizzo, West said, had been yelling at umpires from his suite, saying things like “you’re brutal.” Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of fans in the stadium, everything can be heard down on the field.
“I wouldn’t take that from a player. I wouldn’t take that from a manager,” West said, via the Associated Press. “If it was Donald Trump, I’d eject him, too. But I’d still vote for him.”
Twitter users then took their swings at the ump for Trump. But perhaps they shouldn’t be surprised. Even before the season began, West expressed skepticism over the coronavirus death toll.
Ron Dicker of HuffPost contributed reporting.