Glen Kuiper’s on-air usage of a racial slur, and his suspension by the Oakland Athletics, prompted no shortage of reactions online.
On Monday, Mike Krukow, the long-time San Francisco Giants play by play broadcaster, weighed in. Krukow calls Giants games with Kuiper’s brother Duane, and discussed the situation on KNBR.
Krukow mentioned “a lot of people that were hurt, and there were a ton of people that were disappointed” by Kuiper’s comment, and wondered if it was even his place to forgive Kuiper.
That’s a tough one. Glen Kuiper horribly misspoke. And because of that, there were a lot of people that were hurt, and there were a ton of people that were disappointed. And in these last several days, I’ve listened to the testimony on Glen’s behalf, from Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and by former Oakland Athletic Dave Stewart. Both these guys are African-Americans and both these guys have respect within the culture of Major League Baseball. And as I listened to the words of forgiveness in their hearts, and while I listened, I wondered if it was even appropriate for me, a white guy, to forgive another white guy for misspeaking in such a racially insensitive way, and I hope that it is.
You guys know, I’ve known the Kuiper family for 40 years, and they’re a family of farmers. They believe that people should take on the responsibility of accepting the task of making a difference. They’re hard workers. They don’t judge people by their color or their religion or their political views. They always look for the good in the person. They care. This is them, this is their family. And they all grew up — Duane, Jeff, Kathy, Glen — with these values. When they had their children, they passed these beliefs onto them.
It’s because of this that I will stand by Glen Kuiper.
Glen Kuiper said the slur on Friday night during NBC Sports California’s broadcast of the A’s game in Kansas City against the Royals. He apologized on the air later that night, and the team announced his suspension on Saturday.
[KNBR]
