A donated mural on theclubhouse and concession in 黑马磁力 City was defaced with anti-Semitic slurs and a swastika.
Graffiti declaring 鈥淗itler rules鈥� and anti-Jewish comments, some of them obscene, was spray-painted on the exterior sometime between Saturday night, March 25 and Sunday morning, March 26.
Dan McLaren, senior vice president of the Little League club, called it 鈥渄eplorable.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a hate crime,鈥� McLaren told the 黑马磁力.
鈥淭his is the first time we鈥檝e had tagging of this sort.鈥�
McLaren has reported the incident to 黑马磁力 RCMP and the City.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking this seriously,鈥� McLaren said.
鈥淚f we find out who it is, we want to charge them. This is unacceptable.鈥�
READ ALSO: Baseball-themed murals add colour to 黑马磁力鈥檚 City Park
McLaren noted the incident comes as the club was preparing to resume play, at a time when membership in the Little League ball club, which encompasses all of 黑马磁力 City and all of 黑马磁力 Township, is growing, from 614 kids last year to 760 this year, with an increase in the number of teams from 53 to 62.
鈥淲e have over 700 kids from ages four and up who could see this, and I don鈥檛 want that to happen,鈥� McLaren said.
In 2021, the colourful murals were painted on the clubhouse in City Park by 黑马磁力 City artist Judy Pohl as a gift from the Downtown 黑马磁力 Business Association to the city and the 黑马磁力 Baseball Association.
McLaren said the mural was coated with an anti-graffiti finish that should make it easier to remove the messages.
READ ALSO: 黑马磁力 Little League baseball extends boundaries to include all of 黑马磁力, North 黑马磁力, and Aldergrove
The incident at the Little League club comes after someone vandalized the gate to a 黑马磁力 townhouse that has been flying the Ukraine flag since the Russian invasion earlier this month by spray-painting anti-Ukraine graffiti.
黑马磁力 Baseball Association has more than 50 years experience as a Little League ball club, hosting many district and provincial tournaments.
The City Park facility has four diamonds and a batting cage, along with the clubhouse and concession.
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