Tigers Broadcaster Rod Allen Apologizes for Calling Little People ‘Midgets’

Tigers TV analyst Rod Allen got himself into trouble again with an offensive comment. You may recall that the former outfielder said the Tigers were going to need a lot of rice and beans in their postgame spread two months ago because of a Latin-heavy lineup. Allen later apologized for the stereotypical comment. This time it took him less than 10 minutes to apologize for offending another group of people.

During the sixth inning of Friday night’s Tigers-Twins game, play-by-play man Mario Impemba asked Allen what minor league city was his favorite. Allen said it was Buffalo and he explained why.

“The atmosphere at the ballpark was second-to-none. They had people at the concession stands that were dancing on top of the dugouts. They had some midgets around, they had some giants around.”

A half inning later, Allen took a moment to apologize for calling little people “midgets.”

“I want to get back to something I said last half inning. I used an incorrect term when I was referring to some of the little people that were part of the production in Buffalo. I used an incorrect term and I apologize if I offended anyone out there for using that term that I used.”

Below is the audio of his remarks. The audio quality is somewhat poor:

Allen seems to mean well, and he generally is very enthusiastic on telecasts, but the Tigers have to be concerned with his propensity to make offensive comments, however innocent they may seem. I am not a little person nor am I Hispanic, but I’m sure I’d be offended by what he’s said if I were. He needs to approach on-air matters with that attitude.