Orem Owlz, affiliate of Angels, cancel Caucasian Heritage Night

SALT LAKE CITY -- A minor league baseball team in Utah has canceled a promotion called Caucasian Heritage Night.

The Orem Owlz, a minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, had the promotion scheduled for Aug. 10.

The team said in a statement Friday that the promotion was planned as a joke with burgers on Wonder Bread with mayonnaise, clips of "Friends" and "Seinfeld" and an attempt to "solve the vertical leaping challenge."

"We understand, in light of recent tragic events, that our intentions have been misconstrued. For that, we sincerely apologize," the statement said.

The statement didn't elaborate on what led to the cancellation, though there was heavy criticism online in the hours leading up to the announcement.

Team spokeswoman Kristen Mortensen declined to comment Friday, referring questions to the statement.

Joey Zanaboni, the team's director of media and communications and play-by-play radio announcer, quit before Friday's game and said Saturday on Twitter that the promotion had been decided before he was hired by the team.Zanaboni said in his Twitter statement that he arrived earlier this month to work with the Owlz, "raised serious concerns" about the promotion, which were "not taken seriously" and led to his decision to resign.

The team website originally advertised the promotion as "Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, German.... or even Utahn! Whatever your background, celebrate it at the Home of the Owlz!"

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.