Major League Baseball has decided to no longer run promo ads for Roger Waters‘ 2020 This Is Not A Drill Tour, the sports organization confirmed over the weekend.
According to reports, Waters’ upcoming tour which is being promoted by AEG Live, had been running ads on MLB’s platforms, which drew the attention of Jewish advocacy groups like B’nai B’rith, which doesn’t approve of Waters’ past opinions on peoples of the Jewish faith and Israel. The running of the concert ads on MLB properties apparently upset B’nai B’rith to the point where they actually penned MLB commissioner Rob Manfred a letter expressing their frustration.
“B’nai Brith is saddened and outraged that baseball – the sport of Jackie Robinson, Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente – would use its online resources to publicize an individual with an alarming history of anti-Semitic hatred,” the letter read.
Related: Roger Waters Adds New Dates To 2020 ‘This Is Not A Drill’ North American Tour
MLB said initially they would handle the conundrum internally, but eventually confirmed to B’nai B’rith, “There are no plans to schedule any more [Waters] ads on the MLB platforms.”
As the Associated Press points out, Waters has used his platform as a globally-recognized rock star in the past to support the boycott, divestment, sanctions movement known as “BDS” that presents itself as a nonviolent campaign for Palestinian rights and has not endorsed a specific solution to the conflict with Israel. Waters also has been criticized in the past for his use of the Star of David during performances, although he has claimed the intention was never to offend anyone.
It is unusual that Major League Baseball would engage in geopolitical issues, but also strange that it would support the promotion of the tour considering none of the scheduled performances are set to take place at any baseball stadiums, Rolling Stone points out.
Waters’ 2020 summer tour begins with a show in Pittsburgh, PA on July 8th. Tickets are now available for purchase via his website.
[H/T Associated Press]