Goya Foods donated a bronze statue of famed Puerto Rican baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente last Thursday. However, when it was unveiled in the Bronx, Goya’s role, as well as the statue, brought about some controversy, NBC Latino reported.
According to the report, the statue contains a factual error. On the statue, the date of Clemente’s 300th hit reads as September 29, 1972, when the actual date is September 30, 1972. Additionally, Latino Rebels has started a petition stating that Goya should remove their prominent logo from the statue, arguing that it distracts from the statue’s purpose of honoring Clemente’s legacy.
Goya Foods responded with a statement saying the company is currently in the process of fixing the date on the Clemente statue. The company has yet, however, to comment on requests to remove the logo.
Goya commented, “The creation and donation of this statue was done with the best of intentions. This was not done as a marketing or sales campaign for Goya, but an opportunity to honor a man and a family that we have had a longstanding relationship with for over 50 years. Goya and Clemente had organized a number of baseball clinics, and Clemente was the manager of the Goya sponsored Santurce Baseball team in Puerto Rico.” The response goes on to say, “It is disappointing to hear some people think that having Goya’s name on the statue would in some way lessen the impact.”
(Photo Courtesy of Chasi Annexy)