NEW YORK (JTA) — A Yankees-Red Sox game was rescheduled to avoid a conflict with Yom Kippur.
The Sept. 27 game at Yankee Stadium, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., had been changed to 8 p.m. to appear on ESPN’s "Sunday Night Baseball" national telecast. On Tuesday, however, the game was returned to 1 p.m. after a letter from U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) alerted Major League Baseball and ESPN to the conflict.
Weiner, writing to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, who is Jewish, and ESPN President George Bodenheimer, said Jewish ticket holders could not attend an 8 p.m. game, as Yom Kippur begins Sept. 27 at sundown.
"Because the game was moved, it now runs into direct conflict with the religious requirement for players, such as Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, team personnel and fans to be home by sundown," Weiner wrote. "In New York in particular, home of the largest Jewish community in America, the current scheduling of this game ensures that any observant Jew who purchased tickets will lose their money because they will be unable to attend due to religious reasons.”
