A’s television broadcaster Glen Kuiper was suspended last weekend for appearing to accidentally say a racial slur during a broadcast while speaking about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Kuiper apologized for the remark later on in the broadcast and was suspended by the Oakland A’s for an undetermined period of time.
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow has called games with Glen’s brother, Duane, since 1994. Krukow joined Murph & Mac on KNBR Monday and was asked about the incident. Here are his comments in full:
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.
“I could not be more sorry and horrified by what I said,” Kuiper said Saturday in a statement released by NBC Sports California. “I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies.”
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