FAN MOST FOUL
Jerk picks on developmentally delayed boy, 4, at the Stadium
THAT’S FOUL!
A boorish baseball fan ruined a developmentally disabled 4-year-old’s big trip to Yankee Stadium by hurling insults at the child and calling him “retarded.”
The mother of little Luciano DiMarco caught the tasteless tirade on tape — and the video went viral on Saturday.
“This man verbally attacked my 4 yr old developmentally delayed son and called him ‘retarded’ at yankee game and yankee staff did nothing!” Angelica DiMarco wrote below the video, which has been viewed more than 56,000 times.
DiMarco, of Harrison, Westchester County, wiped away tears as she recounted the eighth-inning incident from Tuesday’s Yankees win over the Reds.
She told News12, which first reported the story, there’s a chance Luciano kicked the man’s seat out of excitement, but she certainly doesn’t feel his reaction was appropriate.
“When he said that, the phone dropped to the floor,” she said.
Luciano has sensory issues, doesn’t respond to social cues and occasionally wears a protective helmet to prevent him from banging his head, DiMarco added.
The man, seen in the video wearing a University of Vermont sweatshirt and glasses, has yet to be identified.
Luciano broke down in tears after the man unleashed the insensitive remark.
“He covered his ears and started hysterical crying and shaking,” DiMarco said of her son.
To make matters worse, DiMarco and other relatives said that she wasn’t satisfied with how stadium security handled the situation.
“We’re all Yankee fans, we’re all from the Bronx,” Luciano’s great-aunt Patricia Turco told the Daily News. “His great-grandmother says she’ll never watch another Yankee game again.”
As long as an altercation is not physical, Yankee Stadium staffers often offer to relocate fans if there is any issue between guests. DiMarco claims that such an offer was never made.
“We asked for a place for him to go,” she said. “We were told if we leave the stadium, we can’t come back in.”
Yankees brass said they are working with the family and hope to get the DiMarcos back in the Bronx soon.
“We are aware of the incident and are currently conducting an investigation,” Jason Zillo, the vice president of communications for the Bronx Bombers told the Daily News. “The New York Yankees have absolutely no tolerance for this type of abhorrent fan behavior.”