ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd is under fire for remarks he made about Dominicans on his radio show Wednesday, while defending the Miami Marlins’ decision to allow its general manager to step into the dugout and handle the team’s day-to-day managerial duties.
“It’s baseball,’’ Cowherd said. “You don’t think a general manager can manage? Like it’s impossible? The game is too complex? I’ve never bought into that, ‘Baseball’s just too complex.’ Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic.’’
That statement didn’t sit well with the roughly 10% of Major League players who hail from that island nation. Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Jose Bautista politely suggested Cowherd, who is leaving ESPN for a gig at Fox Sports, clarify his comments over Twitter.
Dear Mr. @ESPN_Colin before i rip you a new one i would like for you to explain what u meant to say about baseball and dominicans, please
— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) July 23, 2015
On his radio show Friday, Cowherd did address the controversy, but offered a defense in lieu of a direct apology. “I understand that when you mention a specific country, they get offended,” Cowherd said. “I get it. I do. And for that, I feel bad. I do. But I have four reports in front of me … where there are discussions of major deficiencies in the education sector at all levels…. It wasn’t a shot at them. It was data. Five, seven years ago I talked about the same subject. Was I clunky? Perhaps. Did people not like my tone? I get it. Sometimes my tone stinks.”
According to USA Today, Dominicans aren’t the only ones offended by Cowherd’s “analysis.” A source close to the league’s players union told the paper that they want to see a response from both ESPN and Fox Sports and are considering withholding cooperation from both networks until they do.
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“Some of Colin’s comments yesterday referencing the Dominican Republic were inappropriate and do not reflect ESPN’s values of respect for all communities,” a spokesperson for ESPN told msnbc on Friday in a statement. The network later added that “Colin will no longer appear on ESPN.”
Cowherd apologized for his remarks Friday afternoon on Twitter.
I did not intend to offend anyone w my comments. I realize my choice of words was poor and not reflective of who I am. I am sorry.









