Delmon Young celebrated his six-year anniversary of throwing a bat at an umpire in a way that only he can: by getting drunk (allegedly), arrested, and possibly charged with a hate crime.
The Tigers outfielder was in New York prior to his team’s series with the Yankees when he got into it with some people outside the team’s hotel early Friday morning.
After the group was approached by a Jewish panhandler, Young shouted “F–king Jews! F–king Jews!” according to the NY Post.
The other people — a group of Chicago tourists — approached him and things got physical.
The Post says Young allegedly scratched one of the men and pushed him to the ground in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel. They say both groups went to their rooms, and that is when one of the men Young had injured noticed several scratches and called 911.
“He basically made some anti-Semitic remarks, there was a little bit of a scuffle between the victim and the suspect, and he was taken into custody and is being investigated by the hate-crimes task force,” said Det. Joseph Cavitolo, the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner for public information, according to The Detroit News.
Young was taken to the hospital to get sober before he was questioned by police. If there is any positive takeaway for the Tigers, it’s that Young, who is batting .242 on the season, finally hit something.
The whole matter is extremely unfortunate and disturbing. Young, though a hot head, never came across as a bad dude according to people who know him, but this is the latest chapter in what’s been a disappointing career for the former No. 1 overall draft pick.
