Freddie Gray protestors flood Camden Street, attempt to disrupt Orioles game
On Saturday, protestors started gathering in the streets of Baltimore to express their anger over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man who suffered a spinal injury that allegedly occurred while he was being arrested by Baltimore police.
According to reports early in the day, the protests were mostly peaceful. However, as the day has gone along, the protests have become most destructive, with numerous reports of protestors throwing objects at police dressed in riot gear, and breaking out windows in police cars and buildings around Camden and Howard Street, which is right outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles.
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According to a few writers on scene, the protests turned chaotic as first pitch neared, which forced the Orioles to temporarily close off Gate H on Eutaw Street. Thousands of fans were caught up in the protests as well as they attempted to enter the ballpark. Some were even threatened, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo Encina.
There was some brief talk on social media about whether or not the game should go on as scheduled on Saturday. It would appear the Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball never seriously entertained that thought as the game began on time.
Here’s a look at the chaotic scene, courtesy of Encina and others.
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it would appear the scene outside the park hadn’t improved much by first pitch. Perhaps some fans just went home, too, rather than dealing with the gathering.
Things could get interesting again once the game ends, but for now it appears there’s no great danger in continuing the game.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
