Keith Hernandez: Women don't belong in the dugout

[brinkeguthrie]

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez's comments that women "don't belong in the dugout" drew criticism Sunday from Padres manager Bruce Bochy, who supported the female member of his training staff and said he was surprised it even came up.

Hernandez made the remarks during the second inning of New York's 8-1 victory in San Diego on Saturday night. Mike Piazza homered for the Padres and exchanged a high-five in the dugout with Kelly Calabrese, a full-time massage therapist for San Diego.

"Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair?" Hernandez said during the broadcast. "What's going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout."

Hernandez found out later in the broadcast that Calabrese has been with the Padres training staff since 2004, but stood by his comment that she didn't belong with the team during a game.

"I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout," Hernandez said.

Hernandez, a former Mets first baseman, then laughed and said: "You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there - always have."

Bochy said before San Diego's 7-4 win over New York on Sunday that he did not hear first hand what Hernandez said but was told about it and was not amused.

"Kelly is a part of this ballclub," Bochy said. "She's a part of the training staff. I don't know the actual comments, I just heard about it, but she's been here for a while and played a major role with this club in getting guys ready to play a ballgame."

"I didn't think gender was even an issue anymore," Bochy said.

[CC97]

I was watching that broadcast when he said it and it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

Per usual.

They showed a shot of the Padres dugout, and there was a woman in the dugout, in full Padres uniform, and Keith said something to the effect of "I thought only player personnel are allowed in the dugout".

I don't recall him saying "you've got to be kidding me" or making any kind of big deal about it.

He shouldn't have had to apologise, he was right... there was no reason for her to be there, especially in full Padres uniform.

[FiddySicks]

Sounds shady to me. Hmm. But one question i have thats not really related to the issue is, am i the only one that is shocked that Bruce Bochy is still managing the Padres?

[bterreson]

Rememeber when he was on Seinfeld..

[brinkeguthrie]

Rememeber when he was on Seinfeld..

not that there's anything wrong with that.

[CZzyzx41]

Training staff are allowed in the dugout are they not? If not, they sure seem to make it to the field pretty quick whenever a player gets injured.

Only men are qualified to be part of the training staff?

Or perhaps it's ok if a team employs a woman as part of the training staff just as long as she stays in the clubhouse and doesn't set foot in the dugout?

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

what a sexist comment? he absolutely must be fired, arrested on hate crime charges and sent to a diversity re-education camp, where he must be re-educated on diversity in the work place. The him and the team must offer an appology and pay a lump sum to a womens organization for punitive damages made by his insensitive comment. For compensation he must give his position over to a woman to fullfill his diversity obligation. [/end of dark nightmare sarcasm]

Actually, i really don't see the problem with what he said.

[ROCHitman]

I think I remember her.

If I recall, Beltran and Cameron had that brital collision in SD last season, right?

She was on of the first trainers out on the field and did a fine job attending to both players.

[NJTank]

Well Hernandez gave an appology today.

He should be fired and castrated, and go to redcuation boot camp for shame to think he was still living in America when there was freedom of speach and the PC police were not around every corner redy to create a new National Crisis.

She was ina uniform Trainers dont usually wear uniforms, give the guy a break he's there to comment on baseball and his style is refreshing as half his stories end with him getting drunk at one time his life.

He did appologize today this is what I mean by Political Corectness taking freedom away one day at a time.

[VandyDelphia Mike]

This begs the question:

Will using Just for Men hair color make me more prone to making inappropriate comments about the worthiness of people to sit in major league dugouts based on their gender?

Also, forgive Bochy for being overly sensitive on anything. His heritage is French.

[DEAD!]

I think he had to apologize, only to her if she felt offended, even if he didn't mean what he said. He's a broadcaster, his job is to call the game and the words that he says do get noticed. If we get ticked off at Tim McCarver for his in-game analysis, we should at least notice comments like that. We have talked about racism here, well whatever is applied there, the same still hold true for sexism.

Having said that, I'm thinking that he said it in some sarcastic tone. As long as the woman trainer, herself, is not offended by those comments, Hernandez should not get retribution.

[paynomind]

On a tangent to this thread, I dont think anyone but active roster players should have on a uniform.

Thats right, I dont think managers or coaches should wear unis, either. But I'm willing to let mgr and coaches slide. Trainers? Thats just silly.

Hernandez has the right and ability to say whatever he thinks. No big deal should be made of it, even if something he ends up saying is stupid.

As far as women in the dugout? I dont really care so much. I wouldnt personally want them in the locker room, though. I dont wanna come out fo the shower only to see Robin Roberts. My junk would shrink up like an exponential shrinky-dink.

[slapshot]

I will disagreee with paynomind, I don't mind that managers and coaches wear uniforms. They are the only non-player personnel allowed in the field or play or on court in any of the five major sports, so the uniforms help distinguish them as team members, unlike a coach who stays on the sidelines.

If she, as a trainer, was in full uniform, that's dumb. One would think that medical personnel should be able to be spotted quickly in case of an injury, and camouflaging as a team member would make that difficult.

I know a few teams who have women as trainers, I've never heard grumblings about it. The trainers don't normally walk around the locker room when the players are naked unless there's a specific reason; usually trainers have their own offices where the players seek them out.

Hernandez is entitled to his opinion. He should, however, watch his words, since someone with a moustache like his is not in any position to discuss taste and style, Just For Men spokesman or not.

[Gothamite]

Was she really in full uniform?

[CC97]

Was she really in full uniform?

I saw her wearing Padres cap, and camo jersey (it was the camo jersey game)... not 100% on the pants.

[paynomind]

Actually, to be technical, the coaches and managers arent allowed IN the field of play (between the chalk lines) unless there is a timeout, which is consistant with basketball, football, etc.

And wouldnt you think it would be far less confusing for the outfielders to have the coaches, who arent running the basepaths, to be wearing something different than the players, who are running the basepaths?

Its all just tradition, left over from when players managed and coached. They dont anymore. If they do, fine, wear the uni. But if you arent eligable to play in the game, wear a tie.

[DrBear]

If Hernandez thinks :only player personnel: are in the dugout, he's wrong - there are often PR types, security, and so on. She had more reason to be in there than most of the hangers-on.

As for Hernandez, having seen him in those cheezy ads with Walt Frazier, he has no business being on TV.

[Jigga]

Well Hernandez gave an appology today.

He should be fired and castrated, and go to redcuation boot camp for shame to think he was still living in America when there was freedom of speach and the PC police were not around every corner redy to create a new National Crisis.

She was ina uniform Trainers dont usually wear uniforms, give the guy a break he's there to comment on baseball and his style is refreshing as half his stories end with him getting drunk at one time his life.

He did appologize today this is what I mean by Political Corectness taking freedom away one day at a time.

What freedom did he actually lose?

We all have the right to say pretty much whatever the we want. However, our right to say whatever the we want is checked by the right for people to react however the they want to what we say. That includes the PC police.

I say this is a great example why America is such a great country. He's not going to be fired, he's not going to be jailed, and in a couple of days there will be another story for people to get outraged about.

[CC97]

The people are outraged at what the media tells them to be outraged with... that's what sheep do.

"Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair?" Hernandez said during the broadcast. "What's going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout."

Hernandez found out later in the broadcast that Calabrese has been with the Padres training staff since 2004, but stood by his comment that she didn't belong with the team during a game.

"I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout," Hernandez said.

Hernandez, a former Mets first baseman, then laughed and said: "You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there -- always have."

Notice how this article was spun?

Hernandez later found out she worked for the team but "stood by his comment that she didn't belong in there"... um, what about the part that he said RIGHT after his comment where he said he was only teasing?

And now Bochy and Calabrese are going after Keith for being ignorant... oh the irony.

[DEAD!]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padre...-reprimand.html

NEW YORK – Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez was reprimanded by the team's television network for “inappropriate” remarks during a broadcast about a female member of San Diego's training staff.

The former MVP first baseman said women “don't belong in the dugout” when he spotted 33-year-old Kelly Calabrese, the Padres' full-time massage therapist, high-fiving Mike Piazza in the dugout after he hit a home run during New York's 8-1 victory Saturday in San Diego.

After Hernandez found out later in the broadcast that Calabrese was with the Padres training staff, he repeated that she shouldn't have been there. “I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout,” he said.

Hernandez, a former Mets star, then laughed and said: “You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there – always have.”

“Keith Hernandez made inappropriate comments regarding the presence of a female massage therapist of the San Diego Padres who was in the dugout,” SportsNet New York said in a statement Monday. “We immediately addressed the issue with Keith and reprimanded him, and he publicly apologized during Sunday's game.”

Hernandez said Sunday that he was sorry if he offended anyone. He also said that baseball's rulebook allowed only the head trainer and assistant trainer in the dugout.

But a Major League Baseball memo previously sent to all clubs said that in addition to the two trainers, one member of the conditioning staff was permitted in the dugout during games. After Hernandez's remarks, MLB called the Padres and verified that, indeed, Calabrese was allowed.

Calabrese said Sunday that she was flabbergasted by Hernandez's comments.

“It's a little shocking but you know what – it happens,” she said. “He not only discredited me as a person, but he discredited women.”