Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper apologized after making what sounded like a racist remark while describing a trip to the Negro League Baseball Museum.
In NBC Sports California’s pregame segment ahead of Friday night’s A’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Kuiper discussed a trip to the museum with colleague Dallas Braden, but he apparently mispronounced the word “Negro” and dropped the Take it without sounding like an insult.
Later in the match, Kuiper apologized on air, but did not elaborate.
“Welcome back to Kaufman Stadium. I just thought … earlier in the show, I said something that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to,” Kuiper said. “If it sounds different than what I wanted to say, I just want to apologize. Like I said, I just want to apologize for that.”
The A’s later issued a statement calling the language Kuiper used “unacceptable”.
“The Oakland Athletics will not tolerate this language,” the team said. “We’re trying to get the situation under control.”
For approximately 20 years, Kuiper has hosted Class A competitions in the Bay Area. He is the younger brother of former major league and Giants announcer Duane Kuiper.
Before the sixth inning, Kuiper apologized.
“I said some things earlier on the show, but it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to,” he said. “If it sounds different than what I wanted to say, I just want to apologize. I just want to apologize for that.”
Kuiper has been the on-air announcer for NBC Sports’ Team A for 18 years and is known for his “Baby’s Gone!” Home plate calls. His older brother, Duane Kuiper, was an announcer for the San Francisco Giants.
The A’s released a statement on Twitter following the incident.
“The language used by Glen Kuiper in today’s pregame broadcast is unacceptable. The Oakland Athletics will not tolerate language like this. We are working hard to resolve this issue,” the club said.
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