The Mets issued statements on behalf of Sandy Alderson and pitching coach Dan Warthen, who used an ethnic slur while conversing with Daisuke Matsuzaka’s interpreter, Jeff Cutler, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Here’s what occurred:
“Jeff!”
Cutler and I turned around. It was Dan Warthen, the Mets pitching coach.
“I’m sorry I called you a ‘Chinaman’ yesterday,” Warthen told Cutler.
“It’s OK,” Cutler replied.
“I didn’t mean to insinuate –- I know you’re not Chinese,” Warthen said. He paused. “I thought it was a pretty good joke, though.”
“It was,” Cutler said, with a small laugh.
Warthen walked away.
I didn’t say anything, but I was startled. As a 27-year-old Chinese American who grew up in San Francisco, I couldn’t remember the last time I heard the term “Chinaman,” a derogatory word originally given by white Americans to Chinese immigrants in the 19th century.
Here are the two statements:
“I apologize for the thoughtless remarks that I made yesterday in the clubhouse,” Dan Warthen said in a statement released by the team. “They were a poor attempt at humor but were wrong and inappropriate in any setting. I am very sorry.”
Said Alderson: “On behalf of the entire organization, I apologize for the insensitive remarks made by of one of our staff members. The remarks were offensive and inappropriate and the organization is very sorry.”
That these things can still happen in an MLB clubhouse is pretty sad…
