Baseball, Language & How Certain Accents Are Verboten

Last night, Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Morris had to apologize while doing color commentary in a game between the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. During the game, Morris mimicked a Japanese accent while Shohei Ohtani was at bat. Bally Sports Detroit has indefinitely suspended Morris. (I have included the clip above). 

It is interesting to me how certain accents are, for lack of a better word, verboten. Let's say the Tigers were playing the Minnesota Twins and the German born Max Kepler was at bat and Morris had said what he said about Ohtani in a German accent. Would there have been any discussion about it let alone a suspension?

Morris could have probably gotten away with doing a German, Russian/Eastern European, French or British accent. Obviously, he could not get away with an Asian accent and probably wouldn't have been able to get away with a Latino, Middle Eastern, Indian or Caribbean accent. Undoubtedly there is a racial component as the former group of accents are associated with white people while the latter group of accents are associated with racial minorities. Although with that said there are plenty of racial minorities who have British accents. Perhaps the last person who could have got away with using an Asian accent was Don Rickles and he's been dead for four years. 

All of this reminds me of something that happened a couple of weeks ago. I have joined a theater group (that's another story for another day) and I was at a rehearsal. One of my colleagues was acting a role that was specifically described as Latino and he did it with a Latino accent. The director told him to be careful with the accent. I raised the same point at that time that I did then. Why are some accents more objectionable than others? And it all comes down to race. My colleague in question is white. 

Now there's no doubt the Asian community has faced considerable cruelty since the start of the COVID pandemic. But I don't think what Morris did rises to someone who kills Asian women in a massage parlor. It probably would have been better had he not done it but let's not treat him like he killed someone. 

In this kind of atmosphere where there is an absence of balance and proportion it is difficult to engage in a rational discussion. One fellow tweeted out Do's and Don'ts for broadcaster calling Ohtani's games. One of the dont's is, "Spend time discussing whether or not he speaks English." To which I replied, "So if Ohtani is pitching & there is a visit to the mound are you saying it is out of bounds to mention there is an interpreter present?" Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, my point went over most people's heads.

When we turn trivialities into tyranny we obscure hatred when it really rears its ugly head.