MLB legend Mike Schmidt apologizes after inciting Twitter outrage
And now for another episode of America's favorite modern game show, Person Says Dumb Thing Then Gets Dragged on Twitter Then Offers Flimsy Apology.
Our star this time is baseball legend Mike Schimdt.
Schmidt is a Hall of Famer and Philadelphia Phillies hero after starring for the team for nearly two decades and leading it to the 1980 World Series title.
Schmidt appeared on a Philly radio show Tuesday morning to talk baseball, but veered into uncomfortable territory when he started talking about Spanish-speaking players with regard to current Phillies star Odubel Herrera, who is from Venezuela.
Schmidt essentially said it's impossible for a Spanish-speaking player to lead a championship team. Here's the quote that he'd later find himself wishing he could take back.
My honest answer to that would be no because of a couple of things. First of all, it’s a language barrier. Because of that, I think he can’t be a guy that would sort of sit in a circle with four, five American players and talk about the game. Or try and learn about the game or discuss the inner workings of the game. Or come over to a guy and say, 'Man, you gotta run that ball out.' Just can’t be — because of the language barrier — that kind of a player.
Not surprisingly, Schmidt's comments were called out far and wide on Twitter. For example:
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By Tuesday afternoon, Schmidt had offered up an apology for the radio interview.
"I'm very sorry this misrepresentation of my answer occurred and may have offended someone," it read in part.
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And so concludes today's episode of Person Says Dumb Thing Then Gets Dragged on Twitter Then Offers Flimsy Apology.
Tune in again soon to see who slips up next.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
