CHICAGO -- Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended for one year and fined $25,000 by Major League Baseball's Executive Council Wednesday for 'her use of racially and ethnically insensitive language. '
The Executive Council met for eight hours at the O'Hare Hilton before its chairman, Bud Selig, announced that Schott had been 'reprimanded and censured in the strongest terms for her use of racially and ethnically insensitive language, and sternly warned not to engage in such conduct in the future.
'We find, based on considerable evidence, that Mrs. Schott's practice of using language that is racially and ethnically offenisive has brought substantial disrepute and embarrassment to the game and it is not in the best interest of baseball,' Selig said.
Selig said the Council had voted to suspend Schott by a unanimous 10- 0 vote.
Schott, who admitted making anti-Black and anti-Jewish remarks, will be banned from baseball effective March 1 and is eligible for reinstatement on Nov. 1, 1993. If reinstated, Schott will be on probation until Feb. 28, 1994. The $25,000 fine is the maximum permitted of an individual under the Major League Agreement.
Selig also said Schott would immediately be directed to attend and complete multi-cultural training programs.
Schott did not attend the meeting, staying home in Cincinnati. Her attorney, Robert Bennett, headed the negotiations with the Executive Council. He said his client accepted terms of the decision but still felt the suspension was unwarranted.
'She is very upset and she's very depressed; I don't mean that in a clinical sort of way,' Bennett said. 'She feels she's been singled out. She feels that many others in baseball from A tro Z have made similar comments.'
'I do not think she should have been suspended,' Bennett added. '. ..she has apologized for the admitted remarks said on occasion. The most important thing was that Mrs. Schott wanted to make sure her ownership interest was not affected.'
Selig took issue with Schott's contention that other owners have made similar statements that have gone unpunished.
'I am startled and dismayed when people say that's part of an overall pattern in baseball,' Selig said. 'I've been around for 24 years in baseball, and I've never heard it.'
Bennett said that Reds General Manager Jim Bowden will take over day- to-day operations of the club.
Selig said that the terms of the agreement are 'consistent with past suspensions' of owners. Schott will have to relinquish her day-to-day duties with the team but her position as general partner is still in tact. She can attend all Reds games but she is not allowed to sit in the owner's box at field level. Selig said there are still a few more details to be worked out.
The suspension was the first imposed on an owner by the Executive Council, which assumed power Sept. 7 after commissioner Fay Vincent resigned under pressure.
The council consists of Selig, American League president Dr. Bobby Brown, National League president Bill White, owners Jackie Autry of the California Angels, Bill Bartholomay of the Atlanta Braves, Stanton Cook of the Chicago Cubs, Eli Jacobs of the Baltimore Orioles, Fred Kuhlmann of the St. Louis Cardinals, Carl Pohlad of the Minnesota Twins and Tom Werner of the San Diego Padres.
Schott appeared before the Executive Council in Grapevine, Texas, on Jan. 22 to answer questions concerning her alleged racial slurs.
Bennett had said then that he would take legal action if owners made attempts to restrict her authority or prevent her from attending games at Riverfront Stadium. Schott also said through her attorneys that she felt discriminated against because she is a woman.
A number of club owners have expressed reactions ranging from outrage to embarrassment. Schott also made disparaging remarks about Japanese and admits to owning an armband bearing a swastika, the symbol of Nazi Germany.
Sharon Jones, a former Oakland Athletics administrator who first accused Schott of racism, said she was 'shocked' by the decision.
'I thought it was no more than a slap on the wrist,' Jones said. 'I think there needs to be a further investigation involving all the owners, because I believe there is racism throughout Major League Baseball.'
The 63-year-old Schott has admitted making several of the derogatory statements attributed to her but claims she is not a racist and meant no harm. She also explained that the swastika was a gift from one of her auto dealers and she keeps it as 'memorabilia'.
At the winter meetings in Louisville, Ky., in December, Schott denied that she is a racist and apologized for any racial remarks which may have been insensitive.
Schott bought the Reds in 1984 with money inherited after the death of her husband, Charles, an auto dealer in Cincinnati. The controversy regarding her use of racial and ethnic slurs arose in a $2.5 million lawsuit filed by former Reds controller Tim Sabo, who was fired by Schott last year.
Jones also accused Schott of making racist remarks during an owners' conference call in July 1987.
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was the last baseball owner to be suspended. He was banned indefinitely on July 31, 1990, for his associations with admitted-gambler Howard Spira but will be reinstated on March 1.
Steinbrenner also was suspended for two years in 1974 for making illegal campaign contributions to President Richard Nixon. Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner was banned for a year in 1977 for tampering with San Francisco Giants outfielder Gary Matthews.
Philadelphia Phillies owner William D. Cox was banished for life for gambling in 1943, and St. Louis Cardinals owner Fred Saign was forced to sell his team after pleading no contest to tax evasion in 1953.
