Kate Upton started dating Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in 2013, which prompted her to withdraw her support from the New York Yankees.
In a report by Yahoo! Sports, the New York Yankees, however, were not very happy with Upton's public change of allegiance. During the Yankees-Tigers game on August 3, 2014, Upton was seated right behind the Tigers' dugout.
She had a short conversation with her boyfriend followed by Verlander tossing Upton a souvenir baseball. Although the incident was not malicious in any way, the Yankees were dismayed and intended to put a stop to Upton's support for the Tigers, considering it all happened at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
According to NBC Sports, Upton wanted to wear a Tigers hat to show her support to her boyfriend and his team but was prevented from doing so by the Yankees. While appearing on "Live With Kelly and Michael", Upton told Michael Strahan about the incident, "They specifically told me, the Yankees told me, they're like, "You're not allowed to wear a Tigers' hat. You're not allowed to wear any Tigers' gear."
Her relationship and open support for Verlander apparently hurt the Yankees. Upton grew up as a fan of the Yankees and would always wear their jerseys and hats while watching games. The team thought it might hurt the team's reputation or sales seeing one of their most popular fans switch sides.
In an article on the Detroit Free Press, Upton said, "I used to be a really big Yankees fan. But I'm sleeping with the enemy. My boyfriend plays for the Tigers. I had to pick a side. And I felt it too, when I walked in." She added, "It's like a bad breakup."
It was not the first time that a fan was banned from wearing the opposing team's colors or gear.
Yahoo Sports recalled an incident when "Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick asked Los Angeles Dodgers fans seated in the home plate box seats to change out of their Dodgers gear or change seats because they don't want fans featured prominently on camera wearing opposing colours."
Upton shared that she will wear her Yankees hat every now and then, only to spite Verlander before a start. She said, "He always says anytime we're fighting I wear a Yankees hat. And when we're getting along I'm wearing a Detroit hat."