KC’s Negro Leagues museum president forgives Glen Kuiper. Can’t we all do the same? | Opinion

Recently, Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, appeared on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live show to explain why he forgave Oakland A’s announcer Glen Kuiper for using a racial slur while calling a game.

Kendrick received hate mail and online abuse in the days following his public support of Kuiper. For days, Kendrick was called “everything but a child of God,” he told us this week. He was labeled a sellout and was compared to “Uncle Tom more than once,” he said.

Unbothered, Kendrick continues to tell the story of the Negro Leagues and the spirit its players embodied.

“For me, it was a no-brainer to forgive a man who had issued an apology,” Kendrick said during his May 15 appearance on NewsNation. “And that’s simply what I did.”

Kuiper knew right away that he’d fouled up. He apologized during the broadcast and after the game for using the n-word while referencing the Negro Leagues museum, which he had just visited as part of his “phenomenal day” in Kansas City. NBC Sports suspended him indefinitely the next day. He has not appeared on air since that night.

As Abrams noted in his segment’s intro, Kuiper apologized immediately for what he credibly called a slip of the tongue. So shouldn’t we all be more like Kendrick? We believe the art of forgiveness is a powerful tool that must be sharpened.

Yes, Kuiper must pay the price for using the n-word in such a public way. As Kendrick said in the immediate aftermath of the incident, the hateful slur is a painful reminder that some of us were treated as less than equals for centuries. And that included Negro League baseball players banned from competing with their white counterparts in the major leagues.

As Kendrick is quick to note, the work for equality continues.

Should Kuiper keep his job with NBC Sports California? He is a professional broadcaster, and it should go without saying that he should know better than to let that vile word slip. The network and the A’s front office will determine his fate with the organization. But Kendrick — or any other person willing to forgive the announcer — shouldn’t be personally attacked on social media.

Kendrick asked: Who among us doesn’t deserve to atone for a mistake? It is a question each of us must explore.

On social media, the insults directed earlier this month at Kendrick were outright mean and nasty, though the worst is now over.

Of the hundreds of replies to Kendrick’s official statement on Twitter, some stood out:

“It is always one that wants to do a song and dance, no we the black race cannot forgive him. How many times are we going to keep letting the same mistake happen and then someone wants to speak for the black race talking about forgiveness.”

And this hateful screed: “Always got to find a way to provide cover for whites racists. … feel sorry for you. You need their validation … free your mind brother if it ain’t too late.”

“So quick to provide grace and cover for blatant racism. Nope!” posted one user.

“You may forgive him, but you don’t speak for Black people collectively,” another tweet read,

There were also messages of support for Kendrick:

“A little grace goes a long way. Kudos,” one wrote. “First class, sir. Amazing example being set for the younger generations,” wrote another.

“We are all prone to make mistakes,” Kendrick said. “Should we be condemned for every single mistake we make? We will live in a society where no one will do anything. Glen made a mistake. He apologized on air and to us, and that is enough for me.”

“Folks wanted to see more vitriol from me or the museum and that is not who I am and that does not represent the spirit of Negro Leagues,” Kendrick said a day after appearing on NewsNation.

Forgiveness should have been enough to keep Twitter trolls off Kendrick’s back. Too bad it wasn’t.