Pirates Staff Force Season Ticket Holder To Remove Paper Bag From His Head

In an effort to express his displeasure with the franchise, a Pittsburgh Pirates season ticket holder wore a paper bag over his head during Wednesday's game at PNC Park. But the Pirates staff didn't appreciate the peaceful protest.

Pirates fans are long-suffering, to be sure. But Tom Lohr said he's been especially frustrated lately by not only the play on the field, but also the Roberto Clemente logo fiasco and the removal of the Bucco Bricks.

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"It sends a message that wearing a bag on our head that we're proud to be Pirates fans but were embarrassed of the product on the field and how the team's been run," Lohr told KDKA. "For me, it represented a nice, peaceful, silent protest."

But things took a turn in the third inning when an employee approached Lohr and told him he’d have to remove the bag or else be ejected from the game.

"I asked him why, and he said, 'there's a no mask policy at the ballpark," Lohr said, explaining that the incident prompted him to check the ballpark's rules online. "There are a lot of rules, but none that say anything about masks."

A Pirates spokesperson later told KDKA that it's an "unwritten rule."

"This [rule] is for the safety and comfort of all our other guests," the Pirates spokesperson said. "While this incident certainly seems innocent enough, the problem with someone's face being covered is that it prevents security from identifying fans in the event of a safety emergency."

Pirates fans have had it rough for a long time.

(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

Lohr believes this so-called policy has little to do with safety and more to do with the fact that the paper bag "tells the world that Pirates fans are embarrassed of the product that's on the field."

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The Pirates say that just isn't true.

"We appreciate the passion of our fans and respect the ways in which they express that passion both in good times and bad," the spokesperson said.

The Pirates — who last made the playoffs in 2015 — are off to a 5-8 start this season.