Radio host Colin Cowherd has been pulled from the air by ESPN for his offensive remarks on Dominican baseball players in the big leagues."Colin Cowherd’s comments over the past two days do not reflect the values of ESPN or our employees," read an ESPN statement. "Colin will no longer appear on ESPN."ESPN had previously announced that Cowherd's 12-year run at the network was about to expire by mutual accord -- he's widely expected to join the Fox network -- but his show was still supposed to run through next Friday. 
On Friday's show, Cowherd attempted to clarify the remarks that started the firestorm, but only made matters worse."I did not intend to offend anyone with my comments," Cowherd said in a statement. "I realize my choice of words was poor and not reflective of who I am. I am sorry."On Thursday, Cowherd was expressing his belief that general managers are capable of switching roles and taking on managerial duties, as the Miami Marlins’ Dan Jennings has done this season, when he said, “You don’t think a general manager can manage? Like it’s impossible? The game is too complex? I’ve never bought into that, ‘Baseball’s just too complex.’ Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic.’’Cowherd went on to add that the Dominican Republic is not known for its world-class education and that many of its players come from underprivileged backgrounds.Major League Baseball and the players association independently denounced the remarks, even after Cowherd tried to remedy the situation.Cowherd’s explanation that his comments were taken out of context did not satisfy officials from either organization, with baseball issuing a statement demanding an apology.“Major League Baseball condemns the remarks made by Colin Cowherd, which were inappropriate, offensive and completely inconsistent with the values of our game,’’ the statement said. “Mr. Cowherd owes our players of Dominican origin, and Dominican people generally, an apology.”
Cowherd called his wording “clunky’’ but stopped well short of an apology. He also replayed the “rant’’ to underscore his point.“I get, when published out of context, a single quote and you stop the tape, I understand it,’’ he said. “I could have made the point without using one country, and there’s all sorts of smart people from the Dominican Republic. I could have said a third of baseball’s talent is now being furnished from countries with economic hardships, therefore educational hurdles.
That didn’t placate the players union, several of whose members were incensed over Cowherd’s remarks. Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was among the first to respond, tweeting to Cowherd that he would like to get an explanation “before i rip you a new one.’’Bautista, who has a foundation that aims to improve access to higher education for young athletes, released a statement late Friday afternoon before the Blue Jays' game against the Mariners in Seattle."In regards to Colin’s comments, while I do appreciate his attempt to clarify his previous remarks, I do not believe it was an acceptable one,'' the statement said. "I also want to take this opportunity to share how I feel. Not only am I proud to be from the Dominican Republic, but it is an honor to be representing the DR in Major League Baseball."Unfortunately there are hardships that do exist for people of every background, and in some circumstances, yes there are "educational hurdles.” However, there is a difference between that and ignorance or stupidity, which I believe was implied.''Earlier in the day, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark had issued a statement saying, “As a veteran of fifteen MLB seasons, I can assure you that our sport is infinitely more complex than some in the media would have you believe. To suggest otherwise is ignorant, and to make an ignorant point by denigrating the intelligence of our Dominican members was not ‘clunky’ -- it was offensive.“These recent comments are particularly disappointing when viewed against the backdrop of the important work being done to celebrate and improve the cultural diversity of our game. Baseball's partners and stakeholders should help such efforts, not undermine them."Both ESPN and Fox – Cowherd’s expected new employer after a recent announcement that he would end his 12-year tenure at ESPN – are rights-holders to MLB games.On Thursday, a person with close ties to the union suggested its relationship with the networks could be damaged if they did not condemn Cowherd’s comments. The person requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic.The next day, ESPN took a step to mend fences by taking Cowherd off the air a week ahead of schedule. It's not clear what impact his comments may have on his future with Fox.Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports
On Friday's show, Cowherd attempted to clarify the remarks that started the firestorm, but only made matters worse."I did not intend to offend anyone with my comments," Cowherd said in a statement. "I realize my choice of words was poor and not reflective of who I am. I am sorry."On Thursday, Cowherd was expressing his belief that general managers are capable of switching roles and taking on managerial duties, as the Miami Marlins’ Dan Jennings has done this season, when he said, “You don’t think a general manager can manage? Like it’s impossible? The game is too complex? I’ve never bought into that, ‘Baseball’s just too complex.’ Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic.’’Cowherd went on to add that the Dominican Republic is not known for its world-class education and that many of its players come from underprivileged backgrounds.Major League Baseball and the players association independently denounced the remarks, even after Cowherd tried to remedy the situation.Cowherd’s explanation that his comments were taken out of context did not satisfy officials from either organization, with baseball issuing a statement demanding an apology.“Major League Baseball condemns the remarks made by Colin Cowherd, which were inappropriate, offensive and completely inconsistent with the values of our game,’’ the statement said. “Mr. Cowherd owes our players of Dominican origin, and Dominican people generally, an apology.”
On Friday, Cowherd complained that the second part of what he described as a 57-second rant was not published in the numerous online items and tweets that decried his comments, and he mentioned four reports that detailed the educational deficiencies in the Dominican Republic.
“For the record, I used the Dominican Republic because they furnish baseball with so many great players. But they do rank 122nd out of 144 countries in primary education according to the World Economic Forum Global Competitive Report. Nobody says everybody’s anything. And I understand when you mention a specific country, they get offended. I get it. I do. And for that, I feel bad. I do.’’
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