Jack Morris' Sexist Remark Resurfaces in Wake of Detroit Tigers Suspension

A sexist remark made by baseball commentator Jack Morris has resurfaced in the wake of his suspension over a racist comment about Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Morris, a former Detroit Tigers pitcher who now works as a color analyst for Tigers games, was suspended indefinitely from his TV role on Wednesday. Bally Sports Detroit dropped him after he adopted an offensive East Asian accent on air, in response to a question from play-by-play announcer Matt Shepard asking how the Tigers should pitch to Ohtani.

"Be very, very careful," the Hall of Fame pitcher replied in an exaggerated intonation. The remark came during the sixth inning of the Tigers' meeting with the Angels. When Ohtani returned to the plate in the ninth, Morris issued an on-air 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," he 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."

However, Bally Sports Detroit took the decision to suspend Morris indefinitely and confirmed that he would undergo bias training "to educate him on the impact of his comments and how he can be a positive influence in a diverse community."

In the wake of the incident, Susan Slusser, a sports writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, recalled another unsavory episode from Morris's playing days.

Responding to a post from fellow journalist Andrew Baggarly, Slusser tweeted: "A reminder: Jack Morris told my friend, the immensely talented late Washington Post sports columnist Jennifer Frey, 'I only talk to women when I'm naked when they're on top of me or I'm on top of them.' She was an intern at the time, in the clubhouse, doing her job."

One Yankees fan, tweeting under the username @NY_SixNine, immediately sought to dispute this claim.

"Ummm ya that's not what he said....." the fan replied.

Slusser, however, refused to back down.

"That was the essence of what he said," she said. "Absolutely. Not only did I hear the story from Jennifer numerous times but from other people who were there. I'm sure you have too."

Fellow baseball writer Molly Knight then intervened to share a newspaper clipping confirming that the exchange had taken place.

According to the clipping, Frey was trying to get a comment from Morris while he was changing in the Tigers' clubhouse before a game.

He reportedly told her: "I don't talk to people when I'm naked, especially women, unless they're on top of me or I'm on top of them."

Another journalist, Dave Hogg, posted a tweet saying he had witnessed the incident.

"I was part of the group around Morris' locker, and Jennifer asked a routine question of a man who was wearing compression shorts," he said.

"Still might be the nastiest thing I've seen a player do to a reporter."

Neal Rubin, a cartoonist and Detroit News columnist, also condemned Morris's remark.

"It was a crushing thing to say to an intern, the person least equipped to deal with it," he tweeted. "Sort of like the way Bobby Knight used to tee off on reporters from college papers."

Some MLB fans on Twitter still sought to defend Morris, however.

"I once worked with Jack Morris as well," posted one using the handle MLBYoungman. "One morning after a meeting had concluded, he turned and looked me in the eye and said 'Women's rights are human rights.'"

Slusser replied: "Very glad to hear that. Definitely not the message he had in the late 80s but some people are capable of change."

QB_Eagles1990 wrote: "Reporters of any gender do not belong in the Locker Room while players are getting showered and dressed. CFB, tennis, all women's sports don't allow it. Time for the others to follow."

Slusser rejected those claims, writing: "All pro and major college women's sports DO allow both genders in locker rooms postgame."

The Twitter debate led many users to revisit Frey's work and discuss her contribution to sports journalism. Frey died in March 2016 at the age of 47.

"She was absolutely amazing," Slusser wrote in response to one tweet. "I loved her."