When Royals catcher Humberto Quintero came up behind Bruce Chen while Chen was being interviewed in the middle of Saturday’s game against the Pirates, he only intended to give him a hard time. It’s probably safe to assume there was no racist intent behind the slanted eyes gensture that Quintero made, but professional athletes have to be smarter than that. It happened during the bottom of the fourth on a Fox broadcast and Chen, who is of Chinese descent, said after the game that it didn’t bother him at all.
“I’m not offended at all,” Chen said according to the Kansas City Star. “I’m proud of my heritage and being Asian. I really like the way my eyes look. It makes me look sexy. It’s just joking around. I’m definitely not offended, and I hope other people don’t get offended. I don’t think, by any means, was he trying to put my race down. He was doing it to me, and I like the way my eyes look.”
Teammates razz each other like this all the time, so I wouldn’t expect Chen to be offended. That being said, that’s not exactly the smartest gesture Quintero could have made on a TV broadcast. It’s better for everyone if that stuff stays behind the closed doors of the locker room.
H/T Big League Stew
Thanks to Royals Review for the screenshot
