Jackie Robinson statue defaced; NYPD investigating
A statue of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson stands outside MCU Park in Coney Island, where the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones play, at Surf Avenue and West 17th Street. Credit: AP
New York City police are investigating swastikas and hate speech scrawled on a statue of Jackie Robinson and a teammate outside the baseball stadium for the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones in Coney Island.
A manager at MCU Park noticed the defacement Wednesday at about 8:30 a.m. The words "Heil Hitler," plus an expletive and racist epithets were scrawled on the statue in black marker. Workers later covered up the vandalism.
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and are hunting for any video images.
The statue is of Robinson and his Brooklyn Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese.
The Brooklyn Cyclones are affiliated with the Mets. Their stadium was the first ball park in Brooklyn since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.
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