MLB Broadcaster Wonders Whether White People Can Forgive Glen Kuiper's N-Word Mistake

San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow weighed in on Glen Kuiper's on-air slip up, but did so in a slightly bizarre fashion.

Kuiper has been suspended indefinitely by the Oakland A's after he accidentally said the n-word while attempting to say Negro Leagues Museum during a pregame broadcast.

A clearly destroyed Kuiper was suspended indefinitely one day after his on-air remarks. Later in the broadcast he apologized for his error.

(Warning: offensive language)

Kuiper's future remains in doubt.

Krukow, who calls games with Glen Kuiper's brother Duane, weighed in on the situation and questioned whether as a white man he can even forgive the mistake.

He said the following on Murph & Mac on KNBR Monday:

That’s a tough one. Glen Kuiper horribly misspoke. And because of that, there were a lot of people that were hurt, and there were a ton of people that were disappointed. And in these last several days, I’ve listened to the testimony on Glen’s behalf, from Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and by former Oakland Athletic Dave Stewart. Both these guys are African-Americans and both these guys have respect within the culture of Major League Baseball. And as I listened to the words of forgiveness in their hearts, and while I listened, I wondered if it was even appropriate for me, a white guy, to forgive another white guy for misspeaking in such a racially insensitive way, and I hope that it is.
You guys know, I’ve known the Kuiper family for 40 years, and they’re a family of farmers. They believe that people should take on the responsibility of accepting the task of making a difference. They’re hard workers. They don’t judge people by their color or their religion or their political views. They always look for the good in the person. They care. This is them, this is their family. And they all grew up — Duane, Jeff, Kathy, Glen — with these values. When they had their children, they passed these beliefs onto them.
It’s because of this that I will stand by Glen Kuiper.

Krukow's reaction to the Glen Kuiper situation is a bit strange.

It's great to see Krukow seems to have some grace and compassion for the situation. He's definitely not attempting to drag Kuiper through the mud.

In fact, he did the opposite. He praised his family as a solid one and a family where responsibility is incredibly important.

That's the kind of attitude we need more of. As I wrote Monday, the more grace and compassion we have, the better. Careers shouldn't end over simple mistakes.

However, why did Krukow the line, "I wondered if it was even appropriate for me, a white guy, to forgive another white guy for misspeaking in such a racially insensitive way, and I hope that it is," was necessary?

He seems to be injecting more race into the situation - albeit without ill intent - instead of just focusing on the action and the person.

The situation isn't overly complicated.

It boils down to one thing at the end of the day. Glen Kuiper said a racial slur while attempting to say something else. There was no malice or hate in his comment.

That's obvious when you see the apology video. Kuiper appeared ready to sob. Did it look like a man with hate in his heart or a man who realized he made a very unfortunate mistake?

Krukow's statement overall wasn't bad. He seems to be letting logic and rational thinking rule the day. However, it seems strange to randomly throw in whether or not as a white guy he can forgive Kuiper. He actually knows Glen Kuiper and his family. For that reason alone, he's infinitely more qualified to react than pretty much everyone else opining online.

Glen Kuiper accidentally said the n-word during broadcast. (Credit: Screenshot/Twitter video https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1654679569117372416/)

Make sure to keep checking back to OutKick for the latest updates as we have them. The situation with Kuiper's future remains very fluid.