Conn. baseball team admits rejected marriage proposal was a hoax

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. The video of a man being rejected during a public marriage proposal at a minor league baseball game in Connecticut turned out to be a publicity stunt, CBS Connecticut reports.

The would-be-groom's epic strikeout at a game last week for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, went viral on YouTube, getting over 60,000 views by Wednesday.

"Marriage Proposal At New Britain Rock Cats Minor League Baseball Game: She Says No" reads the title of the video, posted by Sports Zone's YouTube account. A man named David pops the question on the field, and then gets on one knee.

"Jessica, everybody wants to know, yes or no?" an announcer asks.

"David, I'm sorry, I can't," she responds, before running off the field. David runs off after her. The announcer lets out an awkward chuckle.

Turns out the whole thing was a stunt. The team's president of marketing, Mike Abramson, said the idea was inspired by a previous proposal. The marketing team wondered what it would be like if the answer happened to be no.

"We all thought it was a fun idea and was sort of in line with the wacky, edgy things we do to get people interested, to stay relevant," Abramson told CBS Radio affiliate WTIC.

David and Jessica are actually employees of the team.

"I did think most people in the audience believed it was fake. The acting, it could have been better, but ultimately we weren't trying to hurt anyone or fool anyone."