I'm personally not a fan of Dan LeBatard, but I think he nails it with his take regarding the Colin Cowherd situation:
I’m hispanic … I think we know what he was trying to say. But we are in a climate where it doesn’t matter you were trying to say, and if we don’t like you, and if have a past near the 3rd rail, we will hold your body of work against you.
I was not offended by this.
If you come from that kind of poverty in the Dominican – I have covered a lot of MLB, Vlad Guerrero, 5th grade education, Manny Ramirez, so poor that he breast fed until he was 6 years old – there is an absence of education across that sport.
I know people want to jump on the idea ‘he’s calling Dominicans dumb’ first of all, there’s a difference between education and smarts. Secondarily, there’s a difference between being smart at your sport – being a genius at your sport – and doing the measurements on smart through books.
I consider myself educated. When it comes to street smarts, I’m an idiot. An idiot! I’m dumb when it comes to street smarts. You can be smart in different ways.
If you want to be upset – with Hulk Hogan, do you forgive him? yes or no? He apologized. Do you forgive him? You don’t have to. I like forgiving people. All the time. I’m pro forgiveness. I’m not going to tell you to forgive him or anybody else they need to forgive him.
If you’re offended, be offended.
[Reads and email from a listener, two minutes, this:]
You guys want to talk about race when someone steps in it, or when you think someone steps in it so you can judge that person and become part of the angry mob and out-outrage the guy next to you. When, if i said what Colin Cowherd just said, as a Hispanic who covered baseball, who cares about Dominicans, who has reported in that country after Sammy Sosa went in that country to help those people after the hurricane … and i told you Sammy Sosa, not educated.
If I said the same thing the same way Cowherd said it. Major League Baseball wouldn’t be demanding an apology. Major League Baseball, mind you, that doesn’t have latin broadcasters. doesn’t have translators for the latin players, but does for the Japanese players. That it is still using bullpen coaches and assistant coaches to translate for the poor guys from other countries!
Major League Baseball, i demand an apology!
