When Minnesota Twins Communications/Marketing/PR Director Dustin Morse put the call out on social media for Target Field sing-a-long suggestions, it seemed like a fun idea for audience participation.
“This kind of filth has no place in the public sphere, let alone Target Field,” said Tom Halden, director of communications for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “I am disgusted.”
That was just one of a flurry of outraged statements from civic and religious leaders after Wednesday afternoon’s sing-a-long to Sexyy Red’s “Pound Town.”
The song, which documents the artist’s pursuit of a romantic partner in explicit, hyper-specific detail, rang out between the 5th and 6th innings to the shock and horror of many in attendance, especially the families who were at the park for Impressionable Children’s Day.
“My oldest asked me what [EXPLETIVE] on my [EXPLETIVE] meant,” said Angie Radtke, a fan who attended the game with her husband and three children. “I was too shocked to say anything, so Tanner started Googling it on his iPad. I’ve never seen his eyes get that wide. The Twins have a lot of explaining to do.”
As for how such a provocative song made its way to the Target Field sound system, there are more questions than answers.
“We’re conducting an internal review and will not be commenting on an ongoing investigation,” said the team in a prepared statement.
An employee in stadium operations, who requested anonymity to comment freely on the incident, said that he was ultimately at fault.
“OK, here’s the truth: I’m so, so tired of ‘Mr. Brightside,’” said the employee, referencing the 2004 Killers hit that’s frequently been used for audience sing-a-longs. “Anything would be preferable, even what looks to be my likely termination. When I checked Dustin’s social media mentions and saw that someone called ‘PrimeShooterHunt’ requested ‘Pound Town,’ I went with it. I thought it was about dingers.
“It is not. It is very much not.”
With no home games until next Friday, the team has time to choose a more appropriate song.
“After Wednesday’s unfortunate incident, we’re performing due diligence on our next song,” said a front office source. “Also, in case anyone was wondering, ‘Baby Got Back’ is not about backs.
