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Heineken has become the last renowned brand to end a sponsorship deal with the minor baseball team Fresno Grizzlies, following a Memorial Day video featuring New York's Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that took place in their stadium.
The brewing company, which owns Tecate and Dos Equis, has announced that it has withdrawn its partnership with the Washington Nationals AAA subsidiary over the controversy surrounding the incendiary video, which compared Ocasio-Cortez to Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro.
During the three-minute video broadcast between the stadium's sleeves, excerpts from the inaugural speech of former President Ronald Reagan were aired. During Reagan's speech on "the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries," an image of the New York Democrat was shown alongside the North Korean dictator and the late President of Cuba.
"We do not support the views expressed in the video, which was broadcast during the Fresno Grizzlies Memorial Day game," said Heineken spokesman Thomas Hunt The bee of Fresno. "For this reason, we terminated this relationship with immediate effect and informed the team of our decision."
The end of the sponsorship contract was also confirmed by the official Twitter accounts of Dos Equis and Tecate.
"We are discouraged to learn the views expressed in the video broadcast during the Fresno Grizzlies game on Monday because they do not reflect our core values," tweeted Dos Equis. "We ended our relationship with the team, and take effect immediately, and we informed them accordingly"
"Tecate has always been synonymous with solidarity and we do not support the opinions expressed in the video broadcast during the Fresno Grizzlies Memorial Day game," wrote the second beer company. "We immediately ended this relationship and informed the team of our decision."
The California-based Sun-Maid raisin company has previously confirmed that it has signed its sponsorship deal with the Grizzlies during the video.
"Sun-Maid does not support the opinions or feelings expressed in the video, nor does it tolerate its broadcast," said a spokesman for Sun-Maid. "While the Grizzlies have apologized for this mistake, we are on the side of what we believe to be right and are ending our sponsorship of the team."
In a statement, the club apologized to Ocasio-Cortez for the video, which had been "carelessly taken on YouTube" and broadcast at the stadium without being previewed.
"What must have been a day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country has been overshadowed by a grave mistake for which we are truly sorry," the statement said. "The criticism we received is deserved.
"We understand the dangers and ramifications of what has been shown. We apologized publicly to MP Ocasio-Cortez. "
The Grizzlies said the employee responsible for tracking the video was reprimanded, without further clarification.
Jennifer Giglio, vice president of communications for the Nationals, said she was satisfied with the club's explanation that the video had been misinterpreted.
"Based on their investigation, it is clear to us that it was an honest mistake made by a long-time employee and not motivated by politics," Giglio said. The bee of Fresno. "They have processes in place to make sure this does not happen again and we are comfortable with these procedures."
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