Oakland A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper is under fire for using a racial slur while on the air. Now, his broadcast partner Dallas Braden has explained why he didn’t react to Kuiper using the n-word in the moment.
The incident occurred during a game in Kansas City. There, Kuiper was breaking down what the pair had done that day and seemingly misspoke while saying they went to the Negro League Museum. You can view the video here.
Dallas Braden, sitting next to him, doesn’t react to the slur. That caught some fans by surprise. However, according to Braden, there’s a good reason for this. He never heard the slur being used and only found out about it while Kuiper was later apologizing on air.
As Dallas Braden explained, he had a producer in his ear who he was listening to at the time. This kept his focus and made him miss the slur.
“At the time of the incident, I was not aware that anything in the broadcast was amiss,” Braden explained. “The nuances of live television mean that sometimes we, as broadcasters, miss some of what you, our audiences, hear. We have producers speaking in our ears about what is next, we are formulating our words to articulate our thoughts, we are moving direction from camera to camera, we are waiting for cues, we are checking sound.”
“We have lots going on that is not always visible to our audience. In that moment, I missed the comment and was not aware of it until the sixth inning when Glen Kuiper made an apology.”
Kuiper was suspended and will remain off the air, pending a review.
Negro League Museum president responds to the incident
Bob Kendrick, who is the president of the Negro League Museum, heard about the incident. He responded to it, explaining that the word is painful and he doesn’t know what is in Glen Kuiper’s heart. However, he also chose to forgive him for the usage.
“I’m aware of the unfortunate slur made by Glen Kuiper,” Kendrick said. “I welcomed Glen to the NLBM yesterday and know he was genuinely excited to be here. The word is painful and has no place in our society. And while I don’t pretend to know Glen’s heart, I do know that my heart is one of forgiveness. I hope all of you will find it in yourselves to do the same.”
More must-reads: