Brooklyn Cyclones to rededicate vandalized Jackie Robinson statue

The vandalizing of the Jackie Robinson statue outside the Brooklyn Cyclones' Coney Island ballpark has given the team an urgent reason to turn that dark and despicable act into bright light shining on the spirit of harmony.

The team announced it is holding Unity Day events this Monday at MCU Park to highlight the spirit of racial harmony captured in the monument of Robinson and his Brooklyn Dodger teammate Pee Wee Reese.

“We wanted to use this as a platform to show what Jackie and Pee Wee stood for and not have the conversation just be about what happened to the statue,” said Cyclones spokesman Billy Harner.

The event will start with a re-dedication of the statue outside the ballpark, followed by the first game of the Cyclones "Battle For The Bridge" doubleheader against their minor league rivals the Staten Island Yankees. After the twin-bill, there will be a free screening of the new film about Robinson, “42.”

Vandals caused an uproar after scrawling swastikas and racist epithets on the statue of Reese with his arm draped around Robinson outside MCU Park.

A reward for information leading to the conviction of the culprits has grown from $10,000 to $50,000.