Former MLB pitching coach says he was fired for calling player 'Spider Monkey'
It might have been an innocent clubhouse barb that was taken out of context, or it might have been something deeper.
Either way, it cost Chris Bosio his job.
The Detroit Tigers terminated the pitching coach before Wednesday’s game for making what it said were “insensitive comments.”
WXYZ-TV in Detroit reported Bosio had used “racially charged language” toward a team employee.
On Thursday, he gave his side of the story in an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Bosio (who is white) said he called pitcher Daniel Stumpf (who is white) “Spider Monkey” because of his facial expressions while lifting weights.
Bosio said a clubhouse attendant (who is black) was upset by the comments because he thought they were directed at him.
Tigers general manager Al Avila, manager Ron Gardenhire and legal counsel John Westhoff met with Bosio when he arrived at the park Wednesday to tell him he was dismissed.
“We know what we did, and why we did it, and we’ll see where it goes from there,’’ Avila told USA Today. “The action we took was appropriate. There were things involved. But I can’t comment any further.”
When confronted by team management, Bosio said, he owned up to the comment.
“I didn’t deny it,” he said. “But it was directed at Stumpf and the face he makes when he lifts weights. That’s it.”
“Al said, ‘We got all of our information, and we’re firing you because of your insensitive comments,'” Bosio said. “I said, ‘Comments? There was one comment. And it wasn’t even directed at the kid.’
“Al said, ‘We and Major League Baseball have a zero-tolerance policy.’ I said, “Al, I don’t have any issues with anybody. I didn’t cross the line. I’m really sorry, but that’s not my intent. I can’t believe this.'”
Stumpf told the Detroit Free Press that the nickname was news to him.
“‘Spider Monkey’ is not a nickname I have been called or I’m familiar with,” the pitcher said.
Bosio, who was in the first of a two-year deal with Detroit, is now considering legal action against the team in an attempt to clear his name, USA Today reported.
“I’ve got [to] protect myself someway,” he said, “because this is damaging as hell to me. I’ve got to fight for myself. Everyone knows this is not me. I didn’t use any profanity. There was no vulgarity. The N-word wasn’t used. No racial anything. It was a comment, and a nickname we used for a player.
“This kid and I had a great relationship. This kid played jokes on me all spring, and I told him, ‘Now you’re offended, because you heard the word ‘monkey,’ or ‘spider monkey,’ and it’s not even directed at you.’’
Bosio was the pitching coach for the 2016 world champion Chicago Cubs but didn’t have his contract renewed after last season.
In an 11-year major league career from 1986 to 1996, he posted a record of 94-93 with a 3.96 ERA.
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