I don't see brothers running around burnt



Baker reiterates comments





By The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 8, 2003



CHICAGO (AP) - Cubs manager Dusty Baker didn't back down Monday when asked about his recent comments that black and Latin players were better suited to play in the heat than white players.
"I meant what I said. ... I try to be as honest as possible, and if that's how I feel, then that's how I feel." he told reporters before Monday's game, a 6-3 win by the Cubs over Florida.

On Saturday, in another pregame talk with reporters, Baker said: "We were brought over here for the heat. Isn't that history? Your skin color is more conducive to heat than it is to the lighter-skinned people. I don't see brothers running around burnt."

Those comments have since prompted debate on radio shows and in newspaper columns across the country.

"It doesn't really matter to me because that's what I said. I'm not going to take it back," Baker said. "What I said to you guys is what I said to my team. I told my other teammates this a long time ago, too. When we talk about how hot it is, I told them that's why my ancestors were brought over here, for that reason, and that's history.

"My mother was a black-American history teacher in Sacramento," he said. "... A lot of people don't know history, that's what it sounds like to me. If they take it as reverse racism ... then they can take it wherever they want to take it."


Confused Red edit
[This message was edited Tue Jul 8 14:19:16 PDT 2003 by sinisterpentatonic]

Dusty Baker is an asshole.

black people hate heat more than anybody/or just as much as anybody else.. black people can get burned by the sun as well.

yeah, but people are probably saying this is racist towards white people or something. This is not a racist statement. People are getting upset about nothing here, in my opinion.

I don't know what to make of the article, but puh-leeaazze.

I'm very white,I don't tan I burn so that much is true, but I know black and hispanic folks who HATE the sun even as much as I do. This dude should win an award for idiocy!

This is ridiculous, why even start a thread about it!

savoirfaire said:

really it's ignorance towards blacks.. but i'm with you. i'm not mad enough to go out and protest

sag10 said:

Because it's kind of funny that people could be THIS stupid! Besides, I like hearing about it when public figures make asses out of themselves in the press.