BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Tupac Shakur bobblehead giveaway at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has sparked both excitement among Orioles fans and criticism from a Baltimore Sun op-ed that argues the promotion sends the wrong message about the city.
The Orioles gave away Tupac bobbleheads to the first 20,000 fans at Friday’s game against the Athletics. Fans lined up outside the ballpark to get one, including Jenny Nelson, who came with her son from Annapolis.
“We listened to it [Tupac’s music] the whole way here. My son put it on the radio,” Nelson said.
She added, “I really liked a couple of the songs, but a couple songs with a little language was a little bad for me.”
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The team highlighted Shakur as an iconic rapper, actor, poet and activist who lived in Baltimore from 1984 to 1988 and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts.
One fan described the connection simply: “He’s Baltimore, that’s it.”
The bobblehead was also a draw for Tristan Connell, who said he traveled from Frederick because of his father’s interest in Shakur and collectibles.
“I live down there in Frederick, Maryland, but he wanted me to go get him this bobblehead. I guess he loves Tupac, collects bobbleheads all the way for the Dallas Cowboys,” Connell said.
Not everyone supported the promotion. A Baltimore Sun op-ed published before the game on May 1 carried the headline “Orioles’ Tupac bobblehead promotion sends the wrong message.” The piece was written by Dr. Shakoor Ward, who’s described as a native Baltimorean and a workforce education and development professional with a doctorate in philosophy from Penn State University.
Among Ward’s concerns was the Orioles “amplifying Tupac’s ‘thug life’ persona he later adopted as an adult,” instead of honoring Shakur as a Baltimore School for the Arts student before he became “2Pac.”
FOX45 News reached out to the Orioles for comment.
They responded with a one-sentence statement: “We appreciate different points of view and welcome Dr. Ward’s perspective.”
Some fans dismissed the criticism.
“That’s his [Ward’s] opinion, and what you always say is, you know, everyone has an opinion, you know? Even if it’s stupid,” one fan said.
Nelson said she did not object to the team recognizing Shakur.
“You know, I’ve just got to appreciate people for who they are at the time they are. And it was a time, and I don’t like the fact that he was killed, but you know, so, but I don’t have a problem with the Orioles recognizing him,” she said.
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