Ronan Tynan Sings No More @ Stadium?
Sure sounds like it…via the Daily News -
Irish tenor Ronan Tynan sings a first-rate “God Bless America,” at Yankee Stadium, but his attempt at telling a joke offended a Jewish doctor who found it to be anti-Semitic.
Tynan apologized, telling WNBC, “I would never want to hurt anybody’s feelings. It was stupid of me to be so callous.”
But the Yankees still canceled his appearance at the stadium Friday night.
The trouble started when Tynan, 49, bumped into a real estate agent showing an apartment in his East Side apartment building to a doctor from NYU Medical Center.
The agent told Tynan, “Don’t worry, they are not Red Sox fans,” according to apartment-hunter Gabrielle Gold-von Simson.
“I don’t care about that, as long as they are not Jewish,” was Tynan’s reply.
It’s OK, the last few years Ronan hasn’t brought any luck of the Irish with him so his time was up anyway.
My neighbor is one of the high-ups in the CT Police Force and got to sit in the Steinbrenner box for Game 1 of the ALDS with Ronan, and he came back speaking so highly of him.
He said the man is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, and is a great story of accomplishment because he has two prosthetic legs going up to his knees. It’s too bad if this story is true, he’s become quite a symbol of Yankee baseball and I always love hearing him sing at the games.
@ YankCrank:
That’s pretty cool. I had no idea Tynan had a disability since I’ve never actually seen him other than when he’s singing @ YS.
It’s a shame it ended this way, if that’s the case.
@ Raf:
Moral of the story is that you gotta be PC. Whether he meant it or not, those kinds of jokes are not to be shared with strangers that may not know you and your sense of humor or your personality.
MJ wrote:
Exactly. Guys like Ronan, or anybody who are easily-recognizable or paid well for their skill set, have so much to lose if they aren’t careful. If this report is true, it was a terrible mistake on his part.
MJ wrote:
Yep. You would think he would know better, in light of incidents that have happened to others over the years.
Ronan’s done so much in light of his disability, it’s sad that he’s being judged for one comment. Did he kill anybody, did he steal food from a baby’s mouth? He said something that was unPC and insensitive BUT he made a bloody mistake. some people in this country are so freaking touchy with this stuff. Americans should hear the type of shit Australians say about each others ethnicity and no one gets offended. Ronan seemed to be ironic,if anything. Before anyone mentions Mel Gibson…… Mel Gibson wasn’t really an Aussie. he was born in the US and moved there when he was 13!
butchie22 wrote:
Ronan has, in some ways, become very closely associated with a multi-billion dollar brand that makes a lot of their money from fans who happen to be Jewish.
No he didn’t kill anybody, but the Yankees can not be associated with a man who may have directly insulted a portion of their money-paying fan base. Not right now, at least.
Too bad; his version of God Bless America is infinitely preferable to Kate Smith.
But…that’s that. Oh, well.
Evan3457 wrote:
Ronan sings the first verse unlike the recorded Kate Smith version that they play. Although I prefer his version, I’m over the whole “tradition” of playing this during the stretch.
YankCrank wrote:
You know he apologized to the doctor and all is good right now between them. I think that Ronan will be back sometime in the future for sure. His joke was far (obscenely far) from being brilliant BUT no bloody crime was committed. Realistically , you can’t have have him snging after that remark BUT c’mon now! The PC factor is so insane these days, it’s so damn sad that he has to suffer to such a silly misstep…….
I wonder how much the Yankees pay him. Would the Phillies have him? He can always sing for the Mets next season.
Steve: What is your opinion?
ChrisXS wrote:
I doubt he gets paid, at all. Betcha his comp for singing is entry to a big game, getting exposure, and the VIP treatment at the park. Will someone else ask him to appear for their team? Well, NBC and ABC didn’t run out and hire Jimmy the Greek, did they?
Was what he said really a joke? Or did it reveal his real feelings? I guess we will never know. I am not generally that touchy about Un-PC talk, but that was a bit in-your-face.
To bad we couldn’t banish God Bless America along with Ronan.
OldYanksFan wrote:
I would say that it was a joke, that he was being flip. Like Fuzzy Zoeller all those years ago.
A key piece of information that should be noted within this apparent miss communication is this:
The real estate agent said to the tenor, famous for his association with Yankees, “Don’t worry they are not Red Sox fans,” ACCORDING TO the apartment-hunter, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson.
To which Tynan replied, “I don’t care about that, as long as they are not Jewish,” THAT WAS THE JOKE ( ALMOST EVERYONE IS JEWISH in this area of NYC)
Hey, I’m sorry she was offended, but I believe Tynan when he said he meant it as a joke AND HE apologized she was offended. This should NOT even be in the news. I’m a big Yankee Fan and I’m disappointed this event was handled the way it was and how it has been blown way out of proportion.
In my opinion, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson seriously needs to lighten up, and learn to laugh at herself more, just like any other reasonably normal person can do.
[...] Ronan Tynan has been banned from singing at Yankee Stadium for making an anti-semitic comment overheard by a neighbor in an apartment building. I imagine he won’t be getting any gigs at Citi Field, either. [...]