New York Yankees Show Insensitivity and Arrogance in Suspending Employee

Steve Lazarus has been a New York Yankee for 35 years. Many fans know him because he is a vendor who usually sells beer.

Last Sunday, according to The New York Post, Lazarus was preparing to work during the second game of the doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. He and some other vendors were waiting at a freight elevator when former Yankees pitcher and current Red Sox hurler Alfredo Aceves walked by.

The vendors recognized Aceves, which prompted Lazarus to joke. He approached the big right-hander and cheerfully asked him if he had any identification. It is difficult to think that Aceves was unaware that Lazarus was a Yankees employee.

Without hesitation, Aceves grabbed his crotch as he arrogantly told Lazarus, “I got your ID right here.”

Everyone laughed, but for Lazarus, the laughter was short lived. A Yankees supervisor asked the vendor to report to his office, where he was told, in no uncertain terms, “You were harassing the opposing team’s player.”

After an “investigation, Lazarus was suspended for at least the first two playoff games against the Detroit Tigers. Speaking to the New York Post, he said, “They take my badge—this is only my 35th year, by the way—and they escort me out like a common criminal. To suspend me, when I did nothing?”

It seems that no actions, by either the Yankees or their friends whom they so staunchly defended, the Boston Red Sox, took any actions against Aceves.

Imagine if Aceves were in a line at the airport during the offseason, which started earlier for him and his Red Sox teammates than anyone believed it would, and he were waiting to board a flight.

An individual who clearly works for the TSA approaches him and asks for ID. What would happen if he grabbed his crotch and told her, “I got your ID right here.” 

How would the fact that he could tell her that he pitches for the Red Sox help him?

Once again, the Yankees management shows its true colors.

From obscene ticket prices to arrogant, self-serving broadcasters John Sterling and his former friend, Michael Kay, to preventing paying customers from using the facilities later in the game, to ignoring certain wrongdoers (Aceves), the Yankees have become an organization that is difficult to support.

As Mr. Lazarus told a reporter, “I don’t know if I can even watch this game.”