11/05/24
May 18, 2011
McDowell Apologizes for Homophobic Heckling of Fans: After the end of his two-week suspension, Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell faced the media and apologized for making homophobic and lewd comments to fans in San Francisco. "I would like to apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions," McDowell said, reading from a prepared statement. "I am not proud of the way I acted and I know that it will not happen again. ... I understand the responsibility we all have in this game."
I've always hated that mealy-mouthed "apologize to anyone who was offended" or "apologize if anyone was offended".
It essentially means "I don't think I did anything wrong, but if you think I did something wrong, then I apologize for it."
posted by grum@work at 01:37 PM on May 18, 2011
"I don't think I've done anything wrong but I need to say this thing or else I don't get paid no more. I'm adding the words 'to' and 'if' to make it painfully clear that I haven't learned anything and that I really hate you guys for making me do this."
posted by tron7 at 02:21 PM on May 18, 2011
McDowell must have been right if the dude hired Gloria Allred as his attorney !
posted by NEPABob at 03:32 PM on May 18, 2011
NEPABob, what is that supposed to mean?
posted by apoch at 04:38 PM on May 18, 2011
As obnoxious of an axe-grinder as Gloria Allred is, that doesn't make what McDowell did right in any sense.
posted by insomnyuk at 06:02 PM on May 18, 2011
Oh, cut him some slack. He's clearly a stupid, stupid man. He don't know how to do people feelings.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:47 PM on May 18, 2011
Well, clearly the situation sank in for him, and clearly he felt pretty bad about something. But:
"I would like to apologize if anyone was offended by my actions that occurred in San Francisco. My intent was not to hurt anybody or hurt anybody's feelings."
I recognize that there's a strong possibility that this statement is not truthful or accurate. But if it is...what does that say? That he honestly didn't think that homophobic slurs are offensive and hurtful to the people they're aimed at?
Taking the statement at face value really just makes him look worse.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:18 PM on May 18, 2011
"My intent was not to hurt anybody or hurt anybody's feelings."
Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "I meant to hurt that guy's feelings, but I'm kinda backward-assed, so I did it by hurling a homophobic slur at him that I'm too stupid to realize is wildly inappropriate"?
posted by tahoemoj at 03:02 PM on May 19, 2011
"I'd like to apologize to the gays. I had no idea they were such oversensitive pansies, and if I offended them, gosh, I'm sorry."
posted by The_Black_Hand at 11:20 AM on May 20, 2011
If what you did was wrong, shouldn't you apologize to everyone, and not just the ones that are offended?