Steve Bartman is still firmly avoiding the spotlight even after the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series, but the team is still in touch and have given him a very special gift.
The Cubs confirmed Monday that they had given Bartman his own 2016 World Series ring as a gift from the organization and owner Tom Ricketts, via Julie Unruh of WGN in Chicago.
“On behalf of the entire Chicago Cubs organization, we are honored to present a 2016 World Series Championship Ring to Mr. Steve Bartman,” the Cubs said in a statement. “We hope this provides closure on an unfortunate chapter of the story that has perpetuated throughout our quest to win a long-awaited World Series. While no gesture can fully lift the public burden he has endured for more than a decade, we felt it was important Steve knows he has been and continues to be fully embraced by this organization. After all he has sacrificed, we are proud to recognize Steve Bartman with this gift today.”
In his own statement, Bartman said he was “deeply moved” by the gesture, expressed hope that it would be the end of the controversy that enveloped him in the 2003 NLCS, and hoped it would serve as a reminder to sports fans about how to treat people.
“I humbly receive the ring not only as a symbol of one of the most historic achievements in sports, but as an important reminder for how we should treat each other in today’s society,” Bartman told WGN in a statement. “My hope is that we all can learn from my experience to view sports as entertainment and prevent harsh scapegoating, and to challenge the media and opportunistic profiteers to conduct business ethically by respecting personal privacy rights and not exploit any individual to advance their own self-interest or economic gain.”
Ricketts had said all along he intended to reach out to Bartman following the World Series victory. He certainly followed through.
