Last week, a group of Alpha Chi Omega sisters of Arizona State University were caught taking selfies during an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. A video of the incident quickly went viral.
Moments after asking Diamondbacks fans to take selfies and post them to Twitter, D-backs TV broadcasters Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly couldn’t stop joking about the sorority sisters doing just that at Wednesday night’s game.
“Look at the one on the right,” Berthiaume said, laughing.
“Do you have to make faces when you take selfies?” Brenly asked.
“Wait, better angle. Oh, check it — did that come out OK?” Berthiaume replied, narrating the girls’ actions.
“That is the best one of the 300 pictures I have taken of myself today!” Brenly responded.
“Every girl in the picture is locked into her phone. Every single one is dialed in. They’re all just completely transfixed by the technology.”
“Gotta take a selfie with the hotdog. Selfie with the churro. Selfie just of a selfie. Here’s my first bite of the churro. Here’s my second bite of the churro.” The commentators were going on and on.
As the video spread, many jumped to the women’s defense, calling out the broadcasters for sexism and pointing out that they were instructed to take selfies.
“While we’d love to give these dudes the benefit of the doubt, it’s nevertheless trouble to see a group of young women mocked on national television by a pair of grown men,” Nicolas DiDomizio at “Mic” wrote about the incident.
According to “Phoenix New Times,” cameras rolled on other fans who were also too engulfed in what was on their phones rather than what was on the field. Happens every time.
Once the AXO sisters were aware of their 15 minutes of fame, they were approached by a representative of the Arizona Diamondbacks and were presented with tickets to another game. Kindly turning down the offer, the girls instead shed light on Alpha Chi Omega’s national philanthropy, domestic violence awareness, and insisted the Diamondbacks donate tickets to a local nonprofit that helps victims of domestic abuse.
The D-backs invited the girls to share one last selfie of the group on the team’s Snapchat. Later that day, the official Alpha Chi Omega at ASU Facebook page gave a shout-out to the team:
“Alpha Chi Omega at Arizona State University would like to thank the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fox Sports for reaching out to the chapter after last night’s game and subsequent media frenzy. We appreciate their generous offer of tickets to tonight’s game. However, instead of chapter members attending the game, we have asked the Diamondbacks and Fox Sports to provide tickets to a future game for families at A New Leaf, a local non-profit that helps support victims of domestic violence. Today, October 1, marks the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If everyone who viewed this statement took the time to make a donation in recognition of domestic violence awareness, which is Alpha Chi Omega’s national philanthropy, we would be so grateful! We are happy to have the opportunity to shed some positive light on such a sensitive subject. All proceeds will go directly to A New Leaf to help struggling Arizona families get back on their feet by providing housing, food, childcare and more. You can donate using the link below. We appreciate your support!”