And today, we open the door again to the International Society for the Study of Apologies, which I co-founded with my friend Nell Minow.
The other night, in a baseball game between the California Angels and Detroit Tiger, an announcer for Detroit, Jack Morris -- one of the Tigers’ all-time great pitchers – made a comment about how he’d pitch to the Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani (who leads the American league in home runs) and in doing so used a caricature Japanese voice. Later in the broadcast, Morris issued his apology “It’s been brought to my attention, and I sincerely apologize if I offended anybody, especially anybody in the Asian community, for what I said about pitching and being careful to Shohei Ohtani,” Morris said. “I did not intend for any offensive thing, and I apologize if I did. I certainly respect and have the utmost respect for this guy.” I have no doubt that Morris did not intend to be offensive. And I have no doubt he’s apologetic and that it’s sincere. However, I also have no doubt that that’s a pretty weak apology. For starters, when your apology begins by noting that you were so unaware you’d done anything wrong by using a Charlie Chan-style accent that it had to be brought to your attention, that’s not the best foundation. True, many (if not most) apologies do require a “By the way…” heads-up nudge, but ideally one figures it out oneself. Especially when using a cartoonish accent out of the 1930s. More to the point is any apology that not only says, “If I offended anyone…”, but says it twice, has fumbled the ball with the depth of his apology. The apology is there, but it’s largely floating on the surface and merely seeped underneath the ground soil so little that only a cactus could grow there. There’s no “if.” When you haven’t offended anyone, there’s no need to apologize – that should be pretty basic and obvious. You are apologizing because you did offend people. Yes, Jack Morris was sincere. I believe he meant it. It’s just that his sincerity was sort of like a carton of milk that thoughtfully includes an "Expired on..." date. And for that, by Institute Standards, I give him the grade of a C. (Ms. Minow's mileage may differ. Or not.) I danced around giving it a C-, but his transgression seems more thoughtlessly idiotic out of ignorance than anything. A more proper apology would have been along the lines of, "Earlier, I was trying to be entertaining in explaining how difficult it would be to pitch to the Angels' great star Shohei Ohtani, and used what I thought was a funny voice. I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid. And I sincerely apologize for what I'm sure was offensive to others, most especially in the Asian community, since I know it was offensive to even me. I have the utmost respect for Shohei Ohtani, who is doing something remarkable on the field this year unprecedented since Babe Ruth. But even if he weren't, whoever he was, it was wrong, stupid, and again I am so sorry and apologize. I will make sure it doesn't happen again." That aside, the network, Bally Sports Detroit announced that Morris would be indefinitely suspended and undergo bias training. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for bias or discrimination, the network’s statement said, “and deeply apologize for his insensitive remark.” The Detroit ballclub itself issued a statement, saying that they were “deeply disappointed by the comments made by Jack Morris during the broadcast last night. We fully support Bally Sports Detroit’s decision and their ongoing commitment to ensure that all personnel are held to the highest standards of personal conduct.” If I have any pleasure from the incident it’s that it gives me the opportunity to bring up a wonderful article about apologies written for his weekly column by my high school and college friend, Rabbi Jack Moline who is president of the Interfaith Alliance, based in Washington, D.C. In addition, he is on the board of directors of Elisberg Industries and serves here as Vice-President of Telecommunications, a fact that he actually references in the article. In fact, Jack also talks about the International Society for the Study of Apologies – as well as another of his (indeed, our) childhood friends, the eminent and oft-mentioned here Nell Minow. So, in addition to being a very good, enjoyable look at the concept of apologies from a real-life scholar who has devoted much of his adult life to dealing with the idea of forgiveness, it’s a lovely look at two of his high school pals. If I have any quibbles about the piece, it’s that he gets the reason wrong for why he is the VP of Telecommunications for Elisberg Industries – though his reason is a funny, short one more appropriate for a thoughtful article on apologies. But for the record, as his brief bio says in the “Our Corporate Board” section above, under the “About Elisberg Industries” tab, the reason Jack is on our Board of Directors is – “Honestly, we mainly like having an officer with Washington connections. As well as a pipeline to God. Hey, you never know on either account, and it's good to cover your bases.” Anyway, if you want to read with an actual rabbi and real-life president of the Interfaith Alliance – and life-long friend, wonderful writer, and funny, thoughtful guy – has to say about the general subject at hand, you can read it here. And I hope you do. It’s not very long – in fact, he spends more time talking about Nell and me. So, you should have a pretty good time not realizing you’re improving yourself.
4 Comments
Nell Minow
8/19/2021 09:00:59 am
Our Apology Hall of Shame has to have a whole wing for the "If I offended anyone" faux-pologies.
Reply
Robert Elisberg
8/19/2021 11:02:03 am
Very true. Perhaps we could sell posters -- or even wallpaper -- in the Guest Shop that would have that phrase, "If I offended anyone..." repeated and repeated endlessly.
Reply
Douglass Abramson
8/19/2021 04:06:07 pm
Ironically, half of Bally Networks ownership (Sinclair) panders to the type of person who wouldn't understand why he would make any kind of apology for his comments. The other half is owned by Entertainment Studios, which is Byron Allen's company. How's that for a corporate Frankenstein's monster?
Reply
Robert Elisberg
8/19/2021 05:40:25 pm
Yes, what a mix. And you're right about the people Sinclair panders to. I'm surprised they didn't give Jack Morris a raise and a contract extension. But perhaps the Byron Allen factor kicked in...
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
Categories
All
|
© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2024
|