22 Feb 2021
Seattle Mariners President Kevin Mather resigned Monday over what is being called “inappropriate and “disturbing comments” aimed at the English-speaking ability of some players on his own team.
Mather was called on the carpet after audio emerged of an address he gave to a local Seattle Rotary Club in which he reportedly made fun of the way some of his players speak English, TMZ Sports reported.
Close to the end of Mather’s time with the Rotary Club members, he was asked about outfielder Julio Rodriguez, who is from the Dominican Republic. Mather ribbed the player saying, “He is loud; his English is not tremendous.”
Updated: 23 Feb 2021, 2:42
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SEATTLE Mariners President and CEO Kevin Mather resigned on Monday after videos showed him ridiculing his foreign players and staffers’ English skills.
Mather, who made the remarks earlier in February in a call with a Rotary Club, resigned and left his post immediately, the Mariners announced in a statement.
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Seattle Mariners President and CEO Kevin Mather was with the team since 1996Credit: Getty Images - Getty
The resignation came after footage emerged over the weekend of Mather talking about Hisashi Iwakuma, a former Mariners pitcher who recently became part of the coaching staff.
“Wonderful human being; his English was terrible,” Mather said of Iwakuma, who is from Japan.
Kevin Mather resigned as the Seattle Mariners President and CEO, after eyebrow raising comments were made public following a February 5th rotary club gathering.
USA TODAY
Kevin Mather, whose startling comments about service-time suppression, foreign-born players English skills and the inner workings of the Seattle Mariners roiled the baseball industry, resigned as the team s president and CEO on Monday, according to club chairman John Stanton.
Mather, 58, made the comments during a Feb. 5 virtual meeting with the Bellevue (Washington) Breakfast Rotary Club, and they were unearthed from YouTube by a Mariners fan Sunday.
By day s end, top Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez tweeted his dissatisfaction with a comment criticizing his bilingual acumen, and the flap also resurfaced complaints of harassment Mather faced as club executive vice president in 2009 and 2010.
Tim Booth
FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2018, file photo, Seattle Mariners president Kevin Mather stands on the field before the team s baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Seattle. Mather apologized late Sunday night, Feb. 21, 2021, for comments made during a recent online event where he expressed opinions about organizational strategy, personnel moves and club finances. Matherâs comments came in a speech to the Bellevue, Wash., Breakfast Rotary Club on Feb. 5 and were posted online over the weekend. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) February 22, 2021 - 5:21 PM
In one 45-minute conversation, Kevin Mather undermined the Seattle Mariners far beyond being the organization with the longest playoff drought in baseball.