This is some disturbing piece of information right here. Centerplate CEO Desmond Hague was shown on video abusing a dog in an elevator recently, which has sparked some controversy around the sports world.
Centerplate is a catering company that services some professional sports teams around the United States, including the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers. CEO Desmond Hague is shown below kicking and yanking on the chain of his dog.
Warning: Some graphic images are shown here.
For their part, the 49ers released a statement on the situation (via Bay Area Sports Guy).
For now, Hague remains CEO of Centerplate, and no clients have yet ended their contracts. The 49ers, in a statement sent to Fortune, said that the organization, “condemns the abuse of animals and was disturbed to learn of the recent news regarding Des Hague. We believe his actions are not reflective of the efforts and service provided by the hundreds of Centerplate employees working to present our fans with a tremendous experience at Levi’s Stadium.
It doesn’t seem that there are any plans for the 49ers to drop Centerplate at this point. As Bay Area Sports Guy points out, that could very well change if this scandal starts to impact their bottom line and fans decide not to purchase food at Levi’s Stadium when it opens up for regular season action in Week 2.
Hague released a statement via his lawyer on Sunday claiming that the incident was out of character (via Forbes.com).
I am not sure what else he’s supposed to say. The dude was caught red-handed beating up on a helpless dog. It remains to be seen whether the 49ers and other teams that use Centerplate to cater their sporting events will take further action, but they most definitely should.
Photo: Forbes.com