In recent years the Jim Evans Academy for Professional Umpiring has held a yearly company bowling celebration. Often the occasion goes off like you could imagine a company bowling event would with a little fanfare. Although, not this year!
Annually, teams are generally assembled and playful names are chosen. Even so, this season one team went a little too far by picking a team name that attracted a resemblance to the Ku Klux Klan. Then, shockingly, team members arrived in costumes which were similar to clothing the racist group is well known for and apparently using well-known slurs! While this sort of behaviour will make many people uncomfortable the school's only black employee experienced a good deal of unease (Which I'm certain is a mild means of putting it). Right after, photographs were distributed and news started to get out about what transpired that night. It did not take long for Minor League Baseball (and MLB by extension) to take notice.
"We carried out an investigation, made our queries, and we uncovered behavior that we found to be reprehensible." explained Pat O'Conner, President of MiLB. And the reprehension? MiLB won't longer take students coming from the Evans Academy which last year produced 14 recruits who have been officially assessed simply by Professional Baseball Umpire Corp, a subsidiary of MiLB.
The issue seems fitting. After all, why would the MiLB and MLB want to be linked to group who believes this sort of action is simply "... a bad joke that wasn't designed to hurt anyone" (Jim Evans). To complicate the matter somewhat is definitely the proven fact that Minor League Baseball launched its own competing Umpire School this coming year, which has been fodder for Evans and others, permitting them to point to that as a concealed objective.
MiLB does not have any agreement with the Evan's Academy or any Umpire School so I don't see this decision being altered at any time even if it becomes a legitimate matter. For now, take the Jim Evans Academy off the listing of possible Umpire Schools.
Annually, teams are generally assembled and playful names are chosen. Even so, this season one team went a little too far by picking a team name that attracted a resemblance to the Ku Klux Klan. Then, shockingly, team members arrived in costumes which were similar to clothing the racist group is well known for and apparently using well-known slurs! While this sort of behaviour will make many people uncomfortable the school's only black employee experienced a good deal of unease (Which I'm certain is a mild means of putting it). Right after, photographs were distributed and news started to get out about what transpired that night. It did not take long for Minor League Baseball (and MLB by extension) to take notice.
"We carried out an investigation, made our queries, and we uncovered behavior that we found to be reprehensible." explained Pat O'Conner, President of MiLB. And the reprehension? MiLB won't longer take students coming from the Evans Academy which last year produced 14 recruits who have been officially assessed simply by Professional Baseball Umpire Corp, a subsidiary of MiLB.
The issue seems fitting. After all, why would the MiLB and MLB want to be linked to group who believes this sort of action is simply "... a bad joke that wasn't designed to hurt anyone" (Jim Evans). To complicate the matter somewhat is definitely the proven fact that Minor League Baseball launched its own competing Umpire School this coming year, which has been fodder for Evans and others, permitting them to point to that as a concealed objective.
MiLB does not have any agreement with the Evan's Academy or any Umpire School so I don't see this decision being altered at any time even if it becomes a legitimate matter. For now, take the Jim Evans Academy off the listing of possible Umpire Schools.
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