Before professional sports in 2020 were postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Fredericksburg Nationals—or FredNats to friends—were planning to pay homage to beloved gorilla Harambe, who was shot and killed in 2016 by officials at the Cincinnati Zoo to protect a three-year-old boy who had fallen into the primate’s enclosure.
Harambe died on May 28, 2016, the day after his 17th birthday. The FredNats planned a celebration for their May 30, 2020, game in honor of what would have been his 21st birthday (or at least within a few days of it). Yesterday the FredNats unveiled the jerseys the team would have worn for the game. The jerseys feature large photos of Harambe on the front and back, with a collage of smaller photos on the sleeves.
The FredNats still plans to wear the jerseys for a game when baseball comes back. Per the team, 100 percent of the proceeds from an auction of the jerseys will be donated to the Dutch Gorilla Foundation.
