Protesting Marlins Fans Ejected from Home Opener

Fans were escorted out of Marlins Park after refusing to show identification to police

Not all of the 34,439 fans in attendance at Monday night's Miami Marlins home opener were pleased with team owner Jeffrey Loria, and a few of them were ejected from Marlins Park when they showed everyone in attendance just how displeased they were.

A small group of Marlins fans were ejected by Miami-Dade Police officers at Marlins Park during the team's 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Dan Barton, his brother and friends criticized the team's management with their words, shirts and signs, including one that read "Free the Marlins."

They were shown the door minutes after showing up and taking digs at Loria and team president David Samson as they spoke to media covering the game.

“I never imagined walking into the game that we wouldn’t make it past the third inning, let alone our seats,” Barton told NBC 6.

The Fins fan from Fort Lauderdale wore a shirt that read, "Marlins baseball – helping other teams get better since 1998."

"We're tired of the ownership. We're tired of Jeffrey Loria." Barton told The Palm Beach Post.

He and "four or five" of his friends bought tickets to the game from a scalper and parked in the yard of a resident near the stadium just so they could attend without any of their money going directly to the team's income statement.

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The Post took the video below before they were ejected.

"We asked police what we were doing wrong. And he said, 'They want you to leave.'"

Samson told the Post that the fans were ejected because they refused to show police identity when they were approached.

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"They were walking around just trying to create a, there’s a police term for it that I am not familiar with," Samson said. "It has to do with disturbance, creating a disturbance. I don't exactly know what it means but it is their job to make sure everything is safe for everyone."

"Our security people are consulted. But it's a pretty simple thing: When police ask for ID and you don't show it, that's it. No other questions are asked. You are escorted."

The Marlins are not off to a good start in 2013. They are 1-6 on the field, but even that poor performance is overshadowed by the the antipathy a good portion of the Marlins' fan base has for its management.

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