Glen Kuiper appeared to use a racial slur on Friday’s Oakland Athletics broadcast. Here’s everything to know about the situation.
Glen Kuiper appeared to use a racial slur on Friday night’s NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast of the Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals game.
While attempting to convey to the audience that he and his color commentator Dallas Braden visited the Negro League Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kuiper appeared to stumble over his words, accidentally using the “N-word” in place of the museum’s proper name.
Following a commercial break, Kuiper apologized for the incident.
“I said something that didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to. I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said… I just wanted to apologize for that,” Kuiper said on the broadcast.
Have Oakland A’s punished Glen Kuiper?
Shortly after the incident, the PR team for the Oakland Athletics sent this out, saying that the language was, “unacceptable,” and clarifying that the team does not condone the language used:
They added that they are working to address the situation. No official punishment has been announced or reported.
UPDATE: On Saturday afternoon, Matt Kawahara reported that Glen Kuiper is going to be suspended and off the air for A’s games until a review of the incident has been completed.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President forgives Glen Kuiper
The President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick, released a statement on Saturday afternoon.
"“I’m aware of the unfortunate slur made by Glen Kuiper. I welcomed Glen to the NLBM yesterday and know he was genuinely excited to be here. 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!”"
Did Glen Kuiper misspeak?
Look, we can’t peer into Glen Kuiper’s heart and tell you the true, authentic answer here. Only Kuiper knows that.
The word that came out of his mouth sounds like the slur in question. Whether that was him tripping over his wording or something else, it’s unfair to speculate.
The context is worth considering, though. Kuiper was describing his day in Kansas City as, “phenomenal,” when he said that he had a chance to visit the Negro League Museum. It’s hard to believe he meant to throw a slur in when he was clearly excited to learn about and absorb the rich history of the negro leagues and how it shaped baseball as we know it today.
All that said, the word that appeared to come out was offensive and harmful. Whether an accident or not, an apology was warranted.