Source: Norm Hall / Getty
An Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster is in hot water after an attempted joke about a New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman’s durag failed to land. The insensitive quip instead came off as culturally out of touch and arguably racist.
During Tuesday’s game (June 1) between the Diamondbacks and the Mets, a close up camera shot showed Stroman on the mound with a durag peeking out from underneath his baseball cap during the 4th inning. Arizona announcer Bob Brenley’s noticed the ethnic headwear, which prompted his caucazoid instincts to suddenly kick in saying: “Pretty sure that’s the same du-rag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets.”
Stroman was not asked about the comment in his postgame but he has addressed the matter via social media through tweets and retweets.
“Onward and upward … through all adversity and racist undertones,” Stroman tweeted in a post. “The climb continues through all!”
In a follow up post, Stroman captioned a retweet of an illustration of him in a durag under a hat saying: “Those who talk down on you are already beneath you.” He also stated that he will have branded durags “coming soon.”
The Arizona Diamondbacks told reporters that the team is investigating the matter, according to USA Today. Brenly apologized the next day in a statement issued by the team.
“During last night’s game, I made a poor attempt at humor that was insensitive and wrong,” Brenly wrote in the statement. “I apologize to Marcus Stroman and have reached out directly to share those thoughts. I have had several conversations with the D-backs and we agree that seeking sensitivity training is an important step so that I can continue to learn from my mistakes in order to be better in the future.”
New York Mets Manager Luis Rojas reprimanded Brenly’s comments as inappropriate and that he understands why Stroman was upset by it.
“Some of the things that happen out in society, they really affect a guy like Marcus, and they affect other people,” Rojas told Northjersey.com. “I can understand him being upset with what happened last night.”
The Mets won the game 7-6. It was broadcasted exclusively on YouTube.
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