The Arizona Diamondbacks are lucky that Wednesday’s game against the Mets is being broadcast exclusively on YouTube.
A day off for their television crew means color commentator and ex-Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly can’t make another asinine remark about Black players. He got one out of his system on Tuesday night, saying that Marcus Stroman pitches with “the same durag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets.”
Stroman took to Twitter after the game to amplify the voices of those who said Brenly was racist, unacceptable, embarrassing and posing a problem for baseball’s future. The Mets’ pitcher also mentioned that durags would soon be available from HDMH Apparel, his brand whose mission is to “inspire and encourage society while motivating the youth to overcome adversity and chase their dreams”.
This morning, Stroman shared screenshots of messages (Warning: Offensive Language) he’s received from a person calling him the n-word and urging him to kill himself.
For the uninformed, Seaver did not in fact wear a durag on the mound, partly because Seaver was not Black. Stroman, who is Black, keeps the ubiquitous part of Black culture under his Mets hat while on the mound. This is not something that anybody should worry about or comment on, particularly 67-year-old white men like Bob Brenly, and especially on the air during a broadcast undoubtedly being watched by thousands of people.
“During last night’s game, I made a poor attempt at humor that was insensitive and wrong,” Brenly finally admitted in a statement hours after the team said they were “reviewing” the offensive comment. “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.”
As expected, Brenly said that it was “just a joke.” His chuckling tone when delivering the remark, and the notable absence of terms like “racist” or “racial” in his plastic apology, seems to indicate that he doesn’t understand the nature of his words or even think that his racially coded language is an issue. That’s the problem.
Turning the Black experience into a joke — on live television, no less! — is emblematic of the problems that fans of color have been raising with baseball’s increasingly out-of-touch older guard. This is the same Brenly who said Fernando Tatis Jr. would have an easier time running the bases if he wasn’t wearing a “bike chain around his neck.” Of course, as Stroman also pointed out, if he were to openly call Brenly racist, it would likely create an even bigger storm than the racist comments themselves.
Brenly could have avoided this by simply not saying anything at all about Stroman’s durag, the same way he probably wouldn’t say anything about a white player wearing eye black or wristbands.
The Diamondbacks and Bally Sports Arizona could go a step further and ensure that he’s not able to say anything at all about any topic by removing him from their broadcast booth, at least with a suspension if not an outright termination.
In the meantime, Stroman has retweeted messages encouraging him to keep wearing the durag, while himself writing that “Those who talk down on you are already beneath you.”
As the situation unfolds and the Diamondbacks must decide on Brenly’s future, they should prioritize someone who knows better than to speak on things they don’t understand, as a bald man talking about durags got them into this situation in the first place.
