Lotte Giants missed chance to address race issues: US pitcher

By Kim Young-jin

Lotte Giants hurler Shane Youman pitches during a Korea Baseball Organization game. / Yonhap

Lotte Giants pitcher Shane Youman says his team missed a chance to teach about racial sensitivity when it failed to address remarks made by an opposing player earlier this month.

Youman, an African-American, became the center of controversy after Hanwha Eagles star Kim Tae-kyun said on a radio show that the pitcher was difficult to hit because of his skin color.

“Lotte didn't discuss the incident with me until I said something,” said Youman, 33, in an email. “I was told they'd address (it), but even after that, nothing was said or done on my behalf.

“They could have done a lot more to raise awareness around the whole league, as well as for college, high school, and younger players.”

Youman also told The Korea Times that Kim had not directly apologized to him despite the two teams having met following the incident.

The controversy erupted on June 10 when Naver Radioball, a popular Internet radio show, quizzed top hitters in Korean professional baseball including Kim about the pitchers they find the most difficult to hit.

The host of the show said Kim picked Youman “because his face was so black and his teeth look so white,” making the ball difficult to spot after it being thrown.

Kim issued a quick apology and claimed his comments were taken out of context. Social media sites however exploded with debate with many calling the comments “racist.”

Race and diversity are important issues in Korea due to changing demographics including an influx of migrants. The number of foreign nationals in Korea recently exceeded 1.5 million, about three percent of the population.

Youman, who is in his second season with the Giants, said his initial reaction was to give Kim the benefit of the doubt because he “may have made a mistake, or even tried to be funny.”

The Giants “took and ran” with that initial response, which came after he was told of the comments by a translator, Youman said. The team did not address the situation.

After taking time to think, the pitcher felt “this issue needed to be addressed, right, or wrong to help avoid something like this from happening again.”

“I don't know why Lotte didn't do much about the situation. Maybe they didn't think it was a big deal especially after Kim Tae-kyun blamed the reporter for what transpired,” he said.

As for Kim, Youman said he should have apologized or made “some sort of gesture” when the teams met for a three-game series June 14 to 16 in Busan, where the Giants are based.

“He hasn't done anything in regards to that aside from calling Lotte officials to apologize, and transfer the blame to the reporter who did the interview. For that, I've lost major respect for Kim Tae-kyun.

“A true professional, right or wrong, would at least apologize for being involved in something of that magnitude, but he passed on that.”

After the comments by the radio host, Kim released a statement saying that he “was just trying to say that Youman was a good pitcher because he has deception in his delivery that makes it hard to read at the plate.”

Youman, who is from Louisiana, said the incident was the only “racial challenge” he has faced since joining the league in 2012. He has also expressed appreciation to fans who supported him following the remarks.

“I still think about what transpired with that whole situation,” he added. The KBO began allowing teams to sign foreign players in 1998.