CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Cincinnati Reds are investigating damage to the recently unveiled Marty Brennaman statue.
The statue, which honors the legendary broadcaster, was unveiled just last month on September 6.
The microphone, a part of the statue, has broken off.
“I work right across the street and so we kind of heard that the statue was damaged earlier today or this week,” said Jennifer Kidder, a lifelong Cincinnati resident.
Kidder, her family and dozens of other people stopped by to see what the damage looked like for themselves.
“It’s kind of sad, Marty is a Cincinnati icon, so, we were kind of hoping it wasn’t true,” said Kidder.
By 6 p.m., the broken microphone had been removed, with just part of the stand remaining.
“Marty’s statue is actually a little taller, a little higher up, so, it’d be difficult for somebody to really, you know, damage it, but I don’t know, the microphone looks pretty delicate,” said Kidder.
It didn’t appear that the rest of the sculpture was damaged.
“Marty deserves a space here in Cincinnati, here at the ball field, so, looking forward to the Reds and the city to replace that part,” said Kidder.
It remains unclear whether the damage was due to vandalism.
The Reds have informed Local 12 that they are aware of the issue and are looking into it.
Brennaman was the iconic voice of the Cincinnati Reds for 46 years. The statue was designed by local artist Tom Tsuchiya.