Lewis Brinson said that when he plays the tape back from Sunday’s game at Coors Field, he doesn’t hear a Colorado Rockies fan yelling at the team’s mascot.
The Miami Marlins outfielder says he hears the n-word.
“So I watched the video at least 50 times in the past 15-16 hours,” Brinson said Monday, one day after the incident in Denver, via The Associated Press. “I watched it a lot, especially when I heard that he said Dinger instead of the n-word.”
“I personally — this is again my personal opinion — I personally keep hearing the n-word. It’s not that I want to hear it, I never want to hear it. Personally I’ve never been called that in person to my face on the baseball field, outside the baseball field, ever, so I don’t know what my reaction would be if I got called that.
“But to now, saying that again, I haven’t talked to the Rockies or that fan personally. If that’s the case, then I’m sorry for any backlash or anything he’s getting right now.”
Brinson also added, “Maybe change the mascot’s name. It sounds a little similar, especially on video.”
Since that game, the Rockies have identified the fan and concluded that he was not yelling a racial slur at Brinson while he was at the plate in the ninth inning on Sunday.
“After a thorough investigation that included calls, emails and video clips from concerned fans, media and broadcast partners, the Colorado Rockies have concluded that the fan was indeed yelling for Rockies mascot Dinger in hopes of getting his attention for a photo, and there was never any racial slur that occurred,” the team said in a statement.
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Brinson said he didn’t hear the fan yelling during his at-bat, and didn’t know it happened until checking his phone after the game.
“My initial reaction was upset, man. Nobody wants to be called that. It’s a disrespectful, disgusting word that belittles my people, Black people. It’s a disgusting word and nobody wants to hear it,” Brinson said Monday, via The Associated Press. “I was in shock.
“I’m getting a lot of love and support on Instagram and I’m sure on Twitter. I appreciate that wholeheartedly, 100%. Again I’m a human, I have sympathy. If he was yelling for the mascot, I am sorry for any backlash or any unnecessary attention he’s getting right now.
“But this does happen in our game. I don’t know if a lot of people know this. Again personally, I’ve never been called that .. but I know a lot of Black players have and it’s disgusting and needs to stop like right now. There’s no place for that in sports, there’s no place for that in life. I just don’t want to have that situation thrown under the rug.”
