Reds weigh in on Brennaman's comment

When television play-by-play broadcaster Thom Brennaman made a homophobic comment during the broadcast of Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader, most of the Reds were on the field or in the dugout, so they didn't immediately hear about it.

A couple of players -- Amir Garrett and Matt Bowman -- shared their thoughts on Twitter Wednesday night. On Thursday, a few more members of the club weighed in with disappointment about the slur being used. Brennaman was replaced during the fifth inning of Game 2 by Jim Day and suspended by the Reds indefinitely. He apologized before giving way to Day.

“It’s too bad that there’s people out there that have been held down and oppressed and have had terrible experiences in their lives in association of that word, because of that word,” Reds first baseman Joey Votto said. “From our perspective, and I’m always wary of speaking on things like this because I’m not a perfect person and nobody inside of our workspace is, but it’s important that it’s acknowledged that that’s wrong, and that lots of people probably felt pain that they’ve experienced in the past reignited when they heard that word over just a ballgame.”

“They were just trying to tune in to watch a ballgame, support their local team … they just want to watch a baseball game, and something like that was brought up. … I think collectively, it’s just a reminder that we always have to be better, and we always have to live with empathy and compassion, listen and grow as people.”

In an op-ed column for the Cincinnati Enquirer, published online Thursday, Brennaman acknowledged his word was wrong. He said he was in contact with Billy Bean, MLB’s vice president of social responsibility and inclusion.

“I cannot erase what I have done. The only thing I can do is humbly apologize, accept the consequences of my actions and resolve to be better and behave differently from now on,” Brennaman wrote. “To the LGBTQ+ community -- I am truly and deeply sorry. You should never be denigrated with crude and hateful language. I failed you, and I cannot say enough how sorry I am.”

On Thursday afternoon, FOX Sports announced that Brennaman would not be part of its NFL broadcasts this season because of his comments.

“Obviously it’s not good what he said, I don’t think anybody really agrees with what he said. There’s really no place for stuff like that anywhere,” Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani said. “I’m sure the Reds and the organization will have to do what they have to do. It’s not good, man. We don’t need that and whatnot. I don’t know, it might be a better thing that he’s gone to be honest, so we’ll see.”

Reds manager David Bell noted that it came down to respect.

“The best way I can say it is, it’s against our team values and everything we stand for,” Bell said. “We’re all about respect, inclusion, authenticity, connection, teamwork, and I’d like to just say that my heart goes out to everyone that was offended by that, and in my opinion, everyone should be offended by it.”

Votto frustrated by time off, error
When the Reds had to postpone three games after a player tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, it was difficult for the routine-oriented Votto.

“The layoff was very tough,” Votto said. “Personally, I showed it the first game back, making that error, and then looking sloppy offensively. It’s really, really tough pausing in the middle of a Major League Baseball season. It’s really tough. I don’t envy the players that aren’t everyday players and have to come off the bench. But truly, we basically just got through what would have been our Spring Training, in terms of plate appearances and in terms of maybe just the first week of the season.”

Votto was not happy with himself for his defensive mistake during Game 1 of Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Royals. He committed a first-inning error when he dropped shortstop Freddy Galvis’ throw to first base on a Whit Merrifield grounder. Kansas City scored three runs during the rally that followed.

“Personally, I felt like I was, again, building momentum toward close to midseason form, feeling good,” Votto said. “And all of a sudden, you get this pause, and beyond that, you don’t get to work, go to the field, do all the skill work you need to do. It was a genuine shock to my system, and I never experienced it before. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty heated yesterday. I dropped that ball, and it leads to a rough first inning, and now it’s more or less the game, so it was really frustrating.”

Injury report
Relievers Pedro Strop (right groin strain) and Robert Stephenson are making progress in their efforts to return from the 10-day injured list. Both pitchers faced hitters in simulated game action on Wednesday at the alternate site in Mason, Ohio.

“They’re both really at a point where they should be healthy and built up enough to rejoin the team soon,” Bell said.