The Detroit Tigers abruptly fired former pitching coach Chris Bosio on Wednesday over what the team called “insensitive comments,” and details are emerging regarding exactly what was said.
Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang of The Athletic were told by multiple sources that Bosio was terminated after he directed a racial slur toward an African-American clubhouse attendant, calling the man a “monkey.” The attendant was reportedly in the coaches’ room collecting towels at a time when Bosio was blowing off steam about one of Detroit’s pitchers. Bosio was given an opportunity to apologize but refused.
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During this exchange, Bosio made a derogatory comment about one of the Tigers pitchers and then gestured toward the attendant before adding, “like this monkey here,” the sources said. The attendant pushed back at Bosio for the comment, and an additional team employee witnessed the exchange. Bosio was provided an opportunity to apologize to the attendant after his outburst but declined to do so, according to multiple sources.
The Tigers conducted an internal investigation into the incident and came to a unanimous decision with 48 hours to fire Bosio, according to The Athletic. Bosio told USA Today on Thursday that he is “in shock” over being fired and insists his comments were taken out of context. The 55-year-old said he was referring to Tigers reliever Daniel Stumpf, whom he supposedly called “spider monkey” because of the faces he makes while warming up. Bosio has not ruled out suing the team for wrongful termination.
“I’ve got [sic] protect myself someway, because this is damaging as hell to me. I’ve got to fight for myself,” Bosio said. “Everyone knows this is not me. I didn’t use any profanity. There was no vulgarity. The N-word wasn’t used. No racial anything. It was a comment, and a nickname we used for a player.
“This kid and I had a great relationship. This kid played jokes on me all spring, and I told him, ‘Now you’re offended, because you heard the word ‘monkey,’ or ‘spider monkey,’ and it’s not even directed at you.”
The Athletic also notes that Bosio may not have been getting along with his colleagues, as sources said he had personality clashes with other members of the coaching staff and “had become increasingly alienated” as a result.
