Al Campanis shows his ignorance
On April 6, – 1987: Al Campanis, Los Angeles Dodgers vice president in charge of player personnel, slurs African-American athletes as a guest on Ted Koppel’s “Nightline.” Ironically, the show is a tribute to Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier 40 years ago.
Asked by host Koppel about racial prejudice in baseball, the 70-year-old Campanis says, “No, I don’t believe it’s prejudice. I truly believe that (African-Americans) may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager.”
Earlier in the show, Campanis had said, “Why aren’t blacks good swimmers? They don’t have buoyancy.”
The next day, Hank Aaron, baseball’s all-time home-run leader and an Atlanta Braves vice president, says, “I was shocked, and I think Mr. Campanis needs to apologize to every single black person in America for making comments like that. All that shows is how ignorant the man is.”
Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley and Campanis will offer a joint apology for Campanis’ remarks. O’Malley will say that Campanis’ job isn’t in jeopardy. But two days after “Nightline,” O’Malley changes his mind and asks Campanis to resign. Campanis, who had been a teammate and supporter of Robinson, heeds the request.
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