It’s not the first sports team to do it, and it won’t be the last.
It was, in a sense, “Gun Night” at Robin Roberts Stadium Wednesday night, as the Springfield Sliders hosted a giveaway of a gun as part of a 50-50 drawing. Team owner Todd Miller says it’s not the first time such a promotion has been done.
“Sports teams do give gun giveaways,” says Miller. “There’s actually another gun giveaway [Wednesday] in Springfield that people aren’t even talking about…it happens all the time. It’s very normal.”
It’s not clear, however, where that second giveaway might have been.
“We’re not forcing you to participate in anything. That has nothing to do with coming out here,” says Miller. “The point of coming out to the ballpark is to support the ball players, support the guys, get behind us. We’re in a playoff contention here. We’re trying to have a winner.”
The winner had a choice of a 12-gauge shotgun or a semi-automatic handgun. Miller said he understands there might be concern in the wake of the Orlando shooting, but he didn’t want to put it off.
The Sliders, by the way, defeated DuPage 2-1 in 14 innings Wednesday night.