Kansas City News Blog

I didn't make it to Friday night's Royals-Cardinals game, but I've been wondering about the fallout from the unofficially named "Right to Life night at the K."

A week and a half ago, I wrote about the objections of  season-ticket holder Scott Hartley (who just happens to be Missouri state Sen. Jolie Justus' district aide) to an ad on the Royals' Web site urging fans to "come cheer on the Royals as they play the St. Louis Cardinals and support the Missouri Right to Life."

After the story appeared online for this "liberal Kansas City tabloid," the Royals removed the "Missouri Right to Life" link for tickets. That didn't sit well with Missouri Right to Life.

A story appearing on the Christian Web site Baptist Press on Friday said Missouri Right to Life felt like the Royals had discriminated against them by removing their link.

"I think we feel discriminated against," the story quotes Missouri Right to Life's legislative liaison Susan Klein. "It seems like pro-abortion people are controlling the Royals."

There's more. Missouri Right to Life bought 300 tickets to the game as part of a fundraiser. According to the Baptist Press story, Missouri Right to Life had sold 58 tickets through the Royals site's link before it was removed.

"We're a group of people trying to attend a ball game who happen to be pro-life," Klein said, according to the Press story.

Klein doesn't seem to grasp the point: There wasn't a disclaimer on the Royals Web site saying the organization doesn't necessarily support the views of the group it was hosting. She also doesn't see how a divisive issue like abortion could be distracting to people who just want to enjoy a ball game -- especially in the wake of the assassination of an abortion provider.