Group KOYOTE member Shin Ji refused to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a KT Wiz home game and then decided to cancel the planned celebratory performance, bringing the controversy to a new phase. After the YouTube video was deleted and the event withdrawn, online opinion is divided between "consideration for fans is correct" and "an overly extreme reaction."
The controversy began with a video released on Shin Ji's YouTube channel "How are you?!?" In the video, Shin Ji said KOYOTE had been offered a celebratory performance after the KT Wiz home game on Aug. 2 and "the representative contacted me and also asked me to throw the first pitch, but I'm a Hanwha fan so I thought throwing the first pitch would be awkward, so I declined."
After a staff member informed her that the game was a matchup between KT and Hanwha, Shin Ji reacted awkwardly, saying, "I didn't know it was a game against Hanwha. Then can I at least watch the game there? I can't wear a Hanwha uniform."
After the video was released, debate among baseball fans continued. Some criticized, saying, "The home team invited you, so publicly saying you're a fan of the opposing team showed a lack of consideration," "If you didn't want to go, you could have just not gone," and "If it was an event, you should have acted professionally." On the other hand, there were many defenses: "On the contrary, it was polite to decline the first pitch since she is not a home team fan," "It would have been burdensome to ask someone known as a Hanwha fan to throw the first pitch for the opposing team," and "Why is it a problem to honestly state one's fandom?"
As the controversy grew, Shin Ji's side made the video private to curb its spread. But public sentiment did not calm easily, and eventually the planned performance was canceled. Agency JG Star said in an official statement on the 14th that "KOYOTE's celebratory performance was confirmed after receiving an initial offer from the KT Wiz club, and later an individual offer for Shin Ji to throw the first pitch was additionally conveyed."
They added, "We judged that Shin Ji, who is known as an ardent fan of the Hanwha Eagles, throwing the first pitch at the home game of the opposing team KT Wiz would not be respectful to either the home or away fans and could cause emotional discomfort, so she politely declined only the first pitch." They also said, "Because the context was not sufficiently conveyed through the YouTube content, it caused misunderstanding and discomfort among KT fans," and "we humbly accepted fans' concerns and reached a cordial agreement with KT Wiz not to proceed with the celebratory performance either."
After Shin Ji's side made the decision, online reactions were mixed. Some said, "Given the fans' position, canceling the performance was the right decision," and "it's better to end it here to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding," while others responded, "Deleting the video and canceling the performance is too much," "it's unfortunate that revealing fandom leads to event cancellations," and "in the end, everyone lost out."
What began as a refusal to throw the first pitch out of consideration for fans turned into an unexpected controversy, and with the video deleted and the celebratory performance canceled, this controversy reached a regrettable conclusion.
[photo] 'OSEN DB, YouTube'
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