Tigers TV analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Morris was suspended indefinitely by Bally Sports Detroit Wednesday for using a perceived racist accent with Shohei Ohtani at the plate in Tuesday's game between the Tigers and the Angels.
Bally Sports Detroit condemned Morris' comments in a statement released Wednesday afternoon and announced Morris would be undergoing bias training to help him become "a positive influence in a diverse community."
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for bias or discrimination and deeply apologize for his insensitive remark," the network said.
The Tigers said they are "deeply disappointed" by Morris' comments in a statement of their own and said "we fully support Bally Sports Detroit's decision" to suspend the three-time World Series champ.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said prior to Wednesday's game that he learned about Morris' remarks after the Tigers' 8-2 loss to the Angels on Tuesday and said "I support both comments by Bally and by our organization that there's no place in the game for it."
"I love this sport," Hinch said. "This sport is arguably the most diverse sport, certainly of the four major sports here in the U.S., and it should be celebrated. The athletes that we get to celebrate tonight, we're talking about Shohei Ohtani and Miguel Cabrera, the two biggest names coming into the game, both from vastly different backgrounds, different countries, different parts of the world. And they're both part of our great sport.
"So we need to celebrate that and certainly learn that comments like that are not only unnecessary but unwarranted."
It's unclear if Morris, 66, will call games for the Tigers again this season.
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