Lori Piestewa. Photo from U.S. Army

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the Arizona Diamondbacks canceled plans to add a former baseball player's name to the highway named in honor of Lori Piestewa, the Hopi woman who was killed in action in Iraq in 2003.

Randy Johnson's name was going to be placed on Piestewa Freeway in recognition of his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Although the addition was only temporary, the state and the team never consulted Piestewa's family.

"They were incredulous. It was hard to believe," Ernest Martinez, Lori's uncle and the family spokesman, told The Arizona Republic. "Especially since we had no preview, no warning, no discussion."

"That was quite stunning. Even (that it was) temporary," Martinez added. "The Piestewa family was not sure it would be temporary. The news release did not say anything about it being temporary and we had nothing in writing."

Despite the lack of consultation, Ducey chalked up the situation to "miscommunication," Capitol Media Services reported. He was due to participate in tomorrow's ceremony before it was canceled by the state and the team.

“We are always going to honor Lori Piestewa and the 51 is Piestewa Parkway,” Ducey told members of the media, Capitol Media Services reported. “So I just want everyone to know that the 51 is Piestewa Parkway. It was always going to remain Piestewa Parkway. And we’ll figure out what’s next to honor Randy.”

Piestewa, who was killed in March 2003, was a member of the Hopi Tribe. She is considered to be the first Native American to die in combat while serving for the U.S. military.

Get the Story:
Piestewa family: Adding name to highway in bad taste (12 News 7/14)
Freeway honoring soldier won’t be renamed after MLB player (AP 7/15)
Diamondbacks legend asks to cancel highway name change (KPHO 7/15)
Ducey says miscommunication caused freeway naming snafu (Capitol Media Services 7/15)
D-Backs, Ducey cancel SR 51 ceremony after concerns (The Arizona Republic 7/16)

An Opinion:
Paola Boivin: Piestewa Freeway misstep proves sports cloud our judgment (The Arizona Republic 7/16)