Oakland A’s announcer Glen Kuiper apologized after it sounded like he uttered a slur while calling the team’s game against the Kansas City Royals Friday night, KTLA sister station KRON reports.
Kuiper was referencing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City when his words “didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to,” he said later in the game.
Kuiper’s original remarks occurred during a pregame segment on NBC Sports California. Kuiper was recounting the “phenomenal” day he had just spent in Kansas City, which included a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which honors the leagues that Black athletes played in before Major League Baseball’s integration. Kuiper also added that he visited the city’s famed Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque restaurant.
Before the 6th inning began, Kuiper apologized.
“A little bit earlier in the show, I said something [that] didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to,” he said. “And I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. I just wanted to apologize for that.”
Kuiper has been the A’s play-by-play announcer on NBC Sports for 18 years, famous for his “That baby’s gone!” home run call. His older brother, Duane Kuiper, is the San Francisco Giants’ announcer.
The A’s posted a statement on Twitter following the incident.
“The language used by Glen Kuiper during today’s pregame broadcast is unacceptable. The Oakland Athletics do not condone such language. We are working to address the situation,” the club said.