Suspended and now fired: Glen Kuiper, long time broadcaster for the American League Oakland Athletics (maybe you've heard of them), and the younger brother of Duane Kuiper, who's a long time broadcaster for the other Major League Baseball team in the area, the San Francisco Giants.

A couple of weeks ago Glen Kuiper was on-air and talking about the Negro League Museum in Kansas City. You can imagine what happened, even if you hadn't heard about this before.

Here's the unfortunate moment:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9-QX1yDOmyY

Now THATS funny !!!

quote Originally posted by rinselberg: Suspended and now fired: Glen Kuiper, long time broadcaster for the American League Oakland Athletics (maybe you've heard of them), and the younger brother of Duane Kuiper, who's a long time broadcaster for the other Major League Baseball team in the area, the San Francisco Giants. A couple of weeks ago Glen Kuiper was on-air and talking about the Negro League Museum in Kansas City. You can imagine what happened, even if you hadn't heard about this before. Here's the unfortunate moment: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9-QX1yDOmyY

Oh man, did they really fire him? It definitely doesn't seem like he meant to say that... it came out so unassuming, he probably was thinking in his head that even using the word "Negro" seems very inappropriate today (because it refers to negroid)... and it probably just got mixed up in his head.

That's unfortunate that we've gotten so ridiculous that people are getting fired for an actual mistake... his whole career down in the dumps.

I'm making assumptions though... did he apologize? What happened literally after the video cuts out?

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: ... he probably was thinking in his head that even using the word "Negro" seems very inappropriate today (because it refers to negroid)...

Is negroid not a race ? Caucasian is.

There's "reads" that can be turned up using an online search engine like Google. There are also a number of different videos about it on YouTube, for anyone who has some basic facility with finding videos on YouTube.

Here's what I have gleaned:

When Glen Kuiper (accidentally, I believe) said the "N-word" (as shown in that YouTube short) it wasn't picked up on right away by anyone on the broadcast team.

Later, during the broadcast, Glen Kuiper apologized, saying (in effect) that he had been trying to say "Negro" but didn't pronounce it as clearly as he might have on any other occasion.

He was suspended from his broadcaster's role by the Oakland baseball franchise. At the behest of the baseball team's owners and management, there was an internal investigation and they interviewed Glen Kuiper as part of this investigation. After the investigation, they fired him.

Many people, including blacks, did not think he did it on purpose, and did not want him to be fired. This includes at least one black man who has a significant role with the Negro League Museum in Kansas City.

I don't know what they turned up in their investigation, or even if they made public any of what they consider the "fruits" of their investigation.

I think maybe the investigation turned up nothing to discredit Glen Kuiper, but maybe the Oakland baseball franchise decided that they had to fire him anyway, because of the pressure from certain people who had taken what might be described as an "inflated" level of interest in the incident.

I wasn't aware that this had happened until yesterday, when I chanced upon a news report that one of the Oakland A's (or Athletics) broadcasters had been fired. The first name that came to my mind was Glen Kuiper. I didn't think he would be the one, though, as I began to read the article.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 05-23-2023).]

Los Angeles Dodgers reinstate Pride Night invitation to drag nun group

Why not? The drag bunt has been part of the game for just about "forever". I don't know when that terminology first came into use, but I would hazard a guess that it goes as far back as the early 1900's, if not even before 1900.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 05-23-2023).]

quote Originally posted by rinselberg: Why not? The drag bunt has been part of the game for just about "forever". I don't know when that terminology first came into use, but I would hazard a guess that it goes as far back as the early 1900's, if not even before 1900.

Why not ? Because "drag bunt" has never been a part of the game. Or even the preludes.

The first one I came up with on YouTube. They're calling it a "drag bunt". He pushed the ball towards the right side of the infield.

It's not a great example of a drag bunt. He popped the ball into the air. I think a well executed drag bunt would have resulted in the ball rebounding softly from the bat and rolling almost directly along the right side foul line towards first base. Struck firmly enough to push the ball past the pitcher and into the valley of "safely bunted" between the pitcher and the first baseman.

That, of course, is a drag bunt towards the right side of the infield. I don't want to get into the nuances of bunting the other way, towards the left side of the infield and along the left side foul line towards third base. It's not necessary for this discussion.

quote Originally posted by rinselberg: Later, during the broadcast, Glen Kuiper apologized, saying (in effect) that he had been trying to say "Negro" but didn't pronounce it as clearly as he might have on any other occasion.

I don't buy it. He pronounced the word he uttered very clearly. The "ni**er" word rolled off his tongue as smoothly as any other word he might use on a regular basis. It appears he momentarily forgot where he was, on camera, and not with his bar buddies... and used a term he seems to be very familiar with.

I would've had more sympathy/respect for the guy if he had just said.... "Hey, what the hell? Black people use this word all the time!" But instead, he comes out with a BS lie that destroys any credibility he might've still had.

quote According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Glen Kuiper's departure [termination] was based on a variety of factors, including information uncovered in the internal review.

That's a tweet from sports fan Jerry McDonald, who's been following the Oakland Athletics or Oakland A's franchise with more attentiveness than the proverbial "man on the street".

I almost wish the Oakland franchise would be more forthcoming about this internal review.

I wonder what the pros and cons would be like, in terms of their being more forthcoming about the internal review.

I wonder if there is any published research by experts—linguists? neurologists? speech therapists? psychologists?—about the plausibility of someone inadvertently saying the "N word" instead of "Negro", and what they think it means or how it could happen.

I think the decision to terminate Glen Kuiper was actually a decision made at NBC Sports.

quote “Well I mean, look, it’s a tough period right now for Glen and for all of us, the whole family,” Kuip [Duane Kuiper] told Murph & Mac on KNBR. “If I want to salvage any kind of relationship for some of the people I work with and for, it would probably be a good idea if I kept my mouth shut. “And I’m not talking about the Giants, who I’m thankful for every day. This is a special organization, and I’m thankful that I’ve been a part of it since 1982. It’s just a tough time right now, and we’ll get through it.”

Duane Kuiper, long-time Giants broadcaster and elder brother of Glen Kuiper.


Edit to add:

You may think this news about a Major League Baseball game broadcaster is not so important, but I assure you, it's important. Consider this: When EA Sports launched the 2003 version of their MVP Baseball video game franchise, they brought San Francisco Giants baseball broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow into their recording studio to be the broadcasters that would be heard on the video game soundtrack. "Kuip and Kruk" were held over by EA Sports for this critical national infrastructure (so to speak) for the 2004 version of the game. Beyond that.... well, I'd have to look it up. I know they are not the same broadcasters that they had in the 20022 version.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 05-24-2023).]