NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The Yankees yanked Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" from the seventh inning stretch over charges of racism – and now her family is speaking out and on a crusade to clear her name.
Smith's niece, Suzy Adron, is taking on the Yankees over their decision to stop playing the singer's 1938 recording of the patriotic song. She says her family has been emboldened by support from fans.
She wants to meet with executives and hopes Yankees fans will be able to decide the ultimate fate of her aunt's song.
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The tradition of playing the rendition during the seventh inning began after 9/11, but the Bombers' ban arose this year from two other racist songs Smith sang in the 1930s, including "That's Why the Darkies Were Born."
Adron told The New York Post that her aunt "didn't have a racist bone in her body. She loved everybody."
Smith's family wants the Yankees to do more research and see the speeches Smith gave, as well as the honors she received for her work to erase bigotry. They say she showed support for Josephine Baker, an African-American entertainer who refused to perform for segregated audiences.
Adron also wants the people who have called her aunt a racist to come forward.
"We don't understand why these people — the cowards — would pick on somebody who has been dead for 33 years," she told the Post.
Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo told the Post they're not commenting further than their original statement that they "take social, racial and cultural insensitivities very seriously" and chose to err "on the side of sensitivity."
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