MLBers with Dominican heritage and the MLBPA "are demanding an apology or other action from outgoing ESPN host Colin Cowherd, who may have insulted a whole country with his on-air comments Thursday," according to Jorge Ortiz of USA TODAY. Talking on his national radio show, Cowherd "was making a point about whether a general manager had the capability of stepping down from the executive office and adeptly handling managerial duties," as the Marlins’ Dan Jennings has been asked to do this season. Cowherd said, "It’s baseball. You don’t think a general manager can manage? Like it’s impossible? The game is too complex? I’ve never bought into that, ‘Baseball’s just too complex.’ Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic." The MLBPA has not issued a statement, but a source "assailed Cowherd’s professionalism and termed the comments ignorant and offensive." The source said that the lack of a response from ESPN and Fox, where Cowherd is rumored to be headed, has upset union members "as much as the comments, and they will consider withholding cooperation with the networks" (USATODAY.com, 7/24). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz noted Fox is the "biggest holder of MLB broadcast rights, so this oughta be fun" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/23). SPORTING NEWS' Troy Machir wrote Cowherd operates by trying to "make up for his lack of understanding of the actual sport by attempting to paint the issue as part of a much bigger topic" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/23).
