Watch CBS News

Patriots Team Headlines: Brockton Official Resigns Over Comments, Pats Apologize For Tap Water Charge

By Danny Cox

Anyone and everyone who watched an NFL game this weekend—or simply hopped on social media—knows that there was a lot of attention given to the "Take A Knee" initiative. Hundreds of players and coaches knelt or locked arms or didn't even come out onto the field for the National Anthem as a form of protest against the harsh words laid forth by President Donald Trump.

There were a lot of different emotions running high on social media, and it even led to the resignation of one city official.

Member of Brockton Parks and Recreation Commission reigns over negative comments

On Sunday, 17 Patriots players took a knee during the National Anthem before their home game against the Houston Texans, but they were far from the only ones. A post on the Facebook page for Boston 25 took note of the actions of those players and left it open for discussion from those who follow the site.

One person who commented was Stephen Pina, a native of Brockton who has worked on the Parks and Recreation Commission for a number of years. He took it upon himself to comment on the photo, and it wasn't an overly flattering way of putting things.

"Turds, your dumba** isn't paid to think about politics... dance monkey dance."

After a lot of attention was brought to Pina's comment, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter asked for his resignation from the commission, which was handed over.

Pina said the words he wrote on Facebook were not meant to be "racist" and he finds it "regrettable" that anything was taken in such a fashion.

Patriots apologize for selling tap water to fans at Gillette Stadium

Sunday's game against the Texans in Gillette Stadium took place on a rather warm day where the temperature hit 86 degrees in Massachusetts. To prepare for the heat and to keep fans hydrated, the stadium had its inventory of water bottles quadrupled to what they normally carry, and that was quite a smart move.

The only problem is that each concession stand was not able to hold all of the inventory while the sale of water continued to go up. The inventory began running out rather quickly, which led fans to ask for cups of tap water so they could hydrate and cool down. That is when things started going wrong, and social media picked up on it.

Fans began tweeting out that the concession stands were charging $4.50 for cups of tap water, and if fans wanted it in a large soda cup, it cost them another 50 cents. Sales of the tap water continued because the water bottles had run out and fans had no other options until they were restocked.

On Ruest, Patriots spokesperson Stacey James apologized for what happened.

"We apologize. That should not have happened. It is the first time that I have ever heard that complaint here. We are looking into the matter to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

Even though the Patriots went on to win the game with some late heroics, not all fans left the stadium happy.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.