D-backs CEO Hall, RHP Duplantier address Brenly durag comment

Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall didn’t mince his words when he said broadcaster and former manager Bob Brenly’s recent remarks toward the New York Mets’ Marcus Stroman put all those involved in a difficult position.

Hall, however, doesn’t want the incident to just be brushed under the rug.

“It’s a situation where obviously it’s offensive to individuals and they expressed it,” Hall told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Friday. “When that happens you have to have a lot of quick discussions internally. … We had a lot of conversations with ourselves. We had a lot of conversations with him. Obviously he took full accountability, put out a statement and is taking time off.

“With that he’s going to go through some training as well. It’s been a couple of tough days for him, understandably. And as a result, it’s been a couple of tough days for us as well, but that’s understandable too. It should be. We should have to deal with it, we should have to talk about it. That’s exactly what has happened and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

Hall’s comments come after Brenly, while calling a game for Bally Sports Arizona, made a crack about Stroman’s headwear on-air during the fourth inning of the Diamondbacks’ 6-5, 10-inning win Tuesday night.

“Pretty sure that’s the same durag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets,” Brenly said.

Stroman, after learning of Brenly’s comments, tweeted after the game: “Onward and upward…through all adversity and racist undertones. The climb continues through all!”

On Thursday, D-backs pitcher Jon Duplantier expressed his displeasure about Brenly’s comments, while adding more context on what the remarks meant to him as a Black man.

“I’m very proud to wear this ‘A’ on my chest and for somebody who is a co-worker in any capacity to make comments like that that are racially insensitive and culturally insensitive is disappointing to me,” the pitcher said.

“The reason it’s disappointing is because … from my viewpoint, growing up where I did in the suburbs, playing baseball as a Black man in America, as a Black kid in America there has been a lot of pressure for me to show up authentically as myself, while walking the tight rope of remaining acceptable and appealing to society and people who may be making important decisions regarding my future.

“There’s been a lot of progress in that regards,” Duplantier added. “Personally, I’m grown now and if there’s something that in my heart I feel like I want to do and be myself and this is how I’m going to be, I’m going to do it.”

Follow @AZSports