Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick has asked that people forgive Oakland A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper after he used a racial slur on-air.
Kuiper has been suspended indefinitely. In a pregame segment on NBC Sports California Friday night against the Kansas City Royals, Kuiper was talking about his time in Kansas City when he told viewers he visited the museum, which he called the “N” word museum.
“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,” Kendrick said in a statement on Twitter. “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 apologized for saying the word, later on during the game.
“Welcome back to Kauffman Stadium. I just want to…a little bit earlier in the show, I said something, didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to,” Kuiper said on-air. “And I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. And like I said, I just wanted to apologize for that.”
“The language used by Glen Kuiper during today’s pregame broadcast is unacceptable,” the A’s tweeted. “The Oakland Athletics do not condone such language. We are working to address the situation.”
UPDATE:
NBC Sports California told TVSpy that Kuiper will remain suspended and will be off air until a review of the incident is completed. A spokesperson also said that Johnny Doskow and Vince Controneo will rotate as play-by-play announcers.
“I could not be more sorry and horrified by what I said,” said Kuiper. “I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies.”