Oakland Athletics Broadcaster Dallas Braden Responds to Partner's Inappropriate Comment

This past weekend, Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper was suspended indefinitely by NBC Sports California for using a racial slur on air.

As you may recall, on Friday's pre-game show before the Athletics played the Kansas City Royals, Kuiper used a slur in place of the word "Negro" when talking about a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. You can see unedited video of the incident here, but be aware that the language may be offensive and hurtful to some people.

On Monday, Kuiper's broadcaster, former Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden, issued a comment on Twitter. The tweet included a screenshot titled "my thoughts."

"As those of you who know me well recognize, I usually speak out about injustices in order to find understanding and push conversations forward. Several people have questioned my lack of response to an issue that took place on air during the pregame broadcast of the Oakland A's game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, May 5th. I believe my silence has been misrepresented.

At the time of the incident, I was not aware that anything in the broadcast was amiss. The nuances of live television mean that sometimes, we, as broadcasters miss some of what you, our audience, see and 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 live comment, and I was not aware of it until the sixth inning when Glen Kuiper made an apology.

I would like you to know that the incident, has, indeed impacted me greatly.

First, I want to express my support and encouragement to my broadcast partner, Glen Kuiper, as he furthers his work in understanding the impact and hurt resulting from the unfortunate mistake.

Second, when issues around race occur, I'm always interested in having conversations aimed at finding healing and advancing collaborative discussions. I have reached out to have those conversations, and I have listened, and I have learned. I will continue to seek clarity, encourage learning, and engage in dialogue to bring out the best in our diverse community.

--Dallas