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Tommy Pham is fed up with fan behavior.
The Padres outfielder told the San Diego Union-Tribune that fans have repeatedly taunted him over an offseason incident in which he was stabbed outside a strip club. Pham sustained serious injuries and required surgery.
“I need to talk to MLB,” Pham said. “The vulgarity this year, the gestures, I’ve never seen it at this level. I want to know if this is just because fans have been gone for a year and now they’re back and acting a certain way. That shouldn’t be tolerated.”
Pham has endured especially harsh treatment on the road. When the Padres visited Houston for a series with the Astros, Pham requested that a fan be removed from a game.
And Pham says he has been taunted at his home venue of Petco Park as well.
“I actually saw a fan who was talking (trash) to me,” Pham said. “I saw him outside the stadium. I said, ‘What’s up? You still want to talk that (trash)?’ He went completely blank. That just shows you people feel entitled.”
MLB provided a statement Tuesday in response to Pham’s outcry.
“Preserving the safety of our on-field personnel and our fans is essential to us,” the statement read. “We will continue to devote resources to emphasizing and enforcing the applicable laws and codes of conduct and providing an enjoyable experience at our ballparks.”
This sort of disconcerting behavior has become a recurring theme over the last month as stadiums and arenas begin to permit near-capacity crowds again. In the NBA playoffs, a Knicks fan spat on Hawks star Trae Young, a 76ers fan dumped a bucket of popcorn on Russell Westbrook and a Celtics fan tossed a water bottle at Kyrie Irving.
Pham, 33, is hitting .242/.374/.361 is in his second season with the Padres.
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