Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Aaron seeking probe of remarks by Schott Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:23:03 EST Message-ID: \SE D;SPORTS;BASEBALL \SS (WS) \HD Aaron seeking probe of remarks by Schott \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT CINCINNATI CINCINNATI (AP) - Home run king Hank Aaron wants baseball to investigate allegations of racism against Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott. Aaron said comments Schott allegedly made to former employees were "really heavy, heavier than what brought down Al Campanis." Campanis, a former Los Angeles Dodgers executive, was fired in 1987 after he said on national television that blacks did not have the "necessities" to be major league managers and general managers. Former Reds front office employees fired by Schott have said she referred to former Reds stars Eric Davis and Dave Parker as "million-dollar niggers." Schott said she did not make such a comment. She said she has used the word "nigger" but had never asked a black if the word was offensive. "Any halfway intelligent person knows that word is offensive," Aaron told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "If a person doesn't know it's offensive, or has to ask, 'Is it offensive?' they need to have their head examined." Neither Schott nor general manager Jim Bowden returned calls yesterday for reaction to Aaron's comments. "Baseball must come forward and make it known to the world: 'We won't stand for this - there is no place for it in the national pastime,' " said Aaron, senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves. "Baseball needs to investigate. Baseball must investigate." National League spokeswoman Katy Feeney said the league had no comment. "When the commissioner's office begins an investigation, we don't announce it to the world that we are investigating," deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg told the Enquirer. "We have had countless investigations that no one even knows about." On Tuesday, Schott denied making some of the statements attributed to her and said she bears no racial or religious prejudice. "Talk to the people who work for me," Schott said. "They know me very well. I'm very close to my employees. "I've been in business for 25 years, since Charlie [her husband, Charles Schott] died, and I've never had anything like this. And I've had thousands of people work for me." She acknowledged that there was only one black among more than 40 front office employees. But she said she did not have a policy of discriminating. "Absolutely not. I never have. I'm not that type of person at all," Schott said. Schott spent two days in court this week before former Reds controller Tim Sabo agreed to dismiss the remainder of a $2.5 million lawsuit alleging that he was fired illegally. The allegations of racial discrimination and name-calling came to light because Sabo said he was fired, in part, because he objected to Schott's alleged prejudice in hiring and promoting minorities. He also said he was fired because he refused to doctor the Reds' books and because Schott wanted to retaliate against him for testifying for her limited partners in a lawsuit last year. Judge Fred Cartolano dismissed the claims regarding retaliation and unethical practices, citing Ohio's "at-will" doctrine of employment. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM