On Tuesday night, Jack Morris watched the Tigers play the Angels from his perch in the Detroit television booth. It will be the last time he has a chance to do that for a while.
Bally Sports Detroit announced that they have suspended the Hall of Famer indefinitely for the “insensitive remark” he made as Shohei Ohtani came to bat. Morris used a cartoonish Asian accent when instructing Tigers pitchers to “be very, very careful” when facing Ohtani.
“Bally Sports Detroit is extremely disappointed with the remarks analyst Jack Morris made during last night’s Tigers game,” the station said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. “Jack has been suspended indefinitely from Tigers broadcasts and will be undergoing bias training to educate him on the impact of his comments and how he can be a positive influence in a diverse community.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for bias or discrimination and deeply apologize for his insensitive remark.”
The Tigers weighed in with their own statement as well.
“The Detroit Tigers take immense pride in honoring the diverse cultures that make up our players, coaching staff, front office, fan base, and community. We are deeply disappointed by the comments made by Jack Morris during the broadcast last night. We fully support Bally Sports Detroit’s decision and their on-going commitment to ensure that all personnel are held to the highest standards of personal conduct.”
Morris did offer an on-air apology on Tuesday during Ohtani’s next at-bat.
“I sincerely apologize if I offended anybody, especially anybody in the Asian community,” Morris said. “I did not intend for any offensive thing and I apologize if I did. I certainly have the utmost respect for this guy.”
The Morris suspension is the second of the season for a broadcaster being racially insensitive during a broadcast. Diamondbacks’ color commentator Bob Brenly was taken off the air earlier this year for remarks he made about Mets’ pitcher Marcus Stroman wearing a durag on the mound. Brenly has since returned to the booth, though, after undergoing sensitivity training.
