Oakland A's broadcaster Glen Kuiper was fired Monday following his on-air utterance of a racial slur during a pregame show May 5.
The incident occurred during a pregame show for an A's game at the Kansas City Royals. Kuiper and fellow broadcaster and former A's pitcher Dallas Braden were discussing a visit to the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City. Kuiper referenced their trip to the museum but uttered a racial slur in place of the museum's name.
Kuiper then issued an apology during the sixth inning of the A's-Royals game.
"A little bit earlier in the show, I said something, didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to," Kuiper said. "I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. As I said, I just wanted to apologize for that."
He followed with an additional apology the next day, after he was suspended.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick addressed the incident in a tweet following Kuper's suspension.
“I welcomed Glen to the NLBM yesterday and know he was genuinely excited to be here,” Kendrick wrote. “The word is painful and has no place in our society. And while I don’t pretend to know Glen’s heart, I do know that my heart is one of forgiveness. I hope all of you will find it in yourselves to do the same!”
Kuiper, 60, has worked on A's broadcasts since 2004, when he started as an on-field correspondent. He took over as the primary TV play-by-play announcer in 2006 and maintained that position until his suspension and subsequent dismissal. He played two seasons of minor-league baseball as an infielder in 1985 and '86.
Seemed like one of those things where your head is like, "alright buddy this word you are about to say is close to the bad word just don't say the bad word" because "negro" isn't a super comfortable word for normal white people to say anyway, and of course, when he opened his mouth, the bad word came out. Seemed like a total anxiety brain/mouth disconnect. That said, i have no idea what his beliefs are.
Former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart agreed with Kendrick’s sentiment: “Bob it could not have been said any better. I know Glen, have worked with him over the years. I believe it was an unfortunate mistake. He, as we all deserve a second chance.”
His firing is confusing to me, since it sounds like Kuiper's mistake was a true brainfart, his apology was sincere, and I know Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Stewart can't speak on behalf of an entire race of people (who can?) but their acceptance of his apology seems significant.
But knowing the A's, they probably did it because they just saved 50% on salaries and benefits for their announcing team.
His firing is confusing to me, since it sounds like Kuiper's mistake was a true brainfart, his apology was sincere, and I know Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Stewart can't speak on behalf of an entire race of people (who can?) but their acceptance of his apology seems significant.
But knowing the A's, they probably did it because they just saved 50% on salaries and benefits for their announcing team.
This definitely seems odd. That "A's do something confusing to make their team slightly worse but also slightly cheaper" meme seems applicable here. I always liked the A's broadcast guys, too.
I feel like if Kuiper has any sort of a contract, he should probably speak to a lawyer.
Nobody mentioned it but he is the younger brother of ex MLB and Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper. Thought it might have been Duane when the story broke.
I have additional respect for Mr. Kendrick taking the high road on the issue by forgiving Kuiper's slip up. He didn't need to do that, but he did. Anytime you see him interviewed, he comes across as a stand-up guy. Too bad the A's didn't do the same.
The A's claimed they investigated the issue for several weeks, so maybe they found things in Kuiper's social media that exacerbated the issue. If he said anything similar even a decade ago, someone was bound to find it. IDK.
We now live in times that an honest mistake gets you pink slipped. Lovely.
But what's nice to see is people of color sticking up for him. The suits should have asked first around first. I take the POC speaking up for Glen as a hopeful sign that the pendulum is moving back toward center. Truly racist behavior should rightly be condemned but reasonable people making mistakes should also be forgiven.