ESPN’s Sportscenter felt compelled to chime in on President Barack Obama attending a baseball game in Cuba with Raúl Castro. Earlier this week, the official Twitter account for ESPN’s leading program tweeted a photo of a run-down neighborhood right outside of Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano.
Meanwhile, next to the stadium in Havana… pic.twitter.com/4nHUzVNO5e
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2016
Moments after the tweet was sent, sports blogger Justin Klugh of SB Nation replied with his own alongside an image of a similar (or worse) scene outside Citi Field in Willet’s Point, Queens, home to the New York Mets.
@SportsCenter Meanwhile, outside Citi Field pic.twitter.com/QRCcuReiwD
— Justin Klugh (@justin_klugh) March 22, 2016
Sportscenter’s succinct tweet almost immediately snowball into a giant slander fest among baseball fans around the U.S. Not only did Klugh remind sports connoisseurs about the terrible conditions of Willet’s Point, but it also prompted Twitter users to bring up other major stadiums with arguably worse conditions than Cuba.
@SportsCenter meanwhile next to the Stadium in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/Oi1M01X6N0
— Charlie Images (@charlieimagesRD) March 22, 2016
@SportsCenter Meanwhile, next to the stadium in Atlanta… pic.twitter.com/Apom4gAmZp
— shrekli (@redlineQC) March 22, 2016
Sportscenter’s crass tweet also sparked another conversation in the Twittersphere. Some users felt the need to vent their frustrations about the cons of building stadiums in the middle of impoverished neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, building stadiums in poor US neighborhoods fucks taxpayers / increases local poverty. GFY @SportsCenter https://t.co/WQgZ8CW9sC
— kurtz433 (@annoykurtz) March 22, 2016
@SportsCenter Meanwhile the U.S. uses eminent domain to steal people’s homes and build unneccesary buildings like Barclays Center.
— Joe Belock (@JoeBelock) March 22, 2016
Although Obama’s visit to Cuba was controversial to say the least, ESPN’s Twitter fingers would have served a better purpose if major cities in the U.S. weren’t dealing with similar problems around its own ballparks.