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Tiger In Trouble

Delmon Young arrested on anti-Semitic
hate-crime harassment charge.

Jackie Headapohl
Managing Editor

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14

May 3 e 2012

etroit Tigers left fielder
Delmon Young was arrested
on a misdemeanor hate-crime
harassment charge early Friday morn-
ing, April 27, in New York City. Police
say he had a tussle with a group of men
and yelled anti-Semitic epithets.
ESPN.com reports allegations that
Young was at the Hilton New York when
he started yelling anti-Semitic slurs
toward a group of tourists from Chicago
and a panhandler wearing a yarmulke.
Young also allegedly got into a physi-
cal altercation with one of the tourists,
resulting in scratches to the person's
elbow. New York detective Joseph
Cavitolo told the Detroit Free Press that
the man refused medical attention.
After his arrest, Young was hospital-
ized because he was believed to be
intoxicated, according to police. He faces
a misdemeanor "aggravated harassment
hate crime" charge.
He was arragined Friday and posted a
$5,000 bond. If convicted, he could face
up to a year in jail.
"When I read the news about Young,
my heart sank to the floor;' wrote Rabbi
Jason Miller on his blog. "My oldest son
is 8. In the past year, he has become a
diehard Detroit Tigers fan. He knows
all the players by name. He knows their
uniform number and their statistics ...
How am I supposed to explain to my
son that Delmon Young was [allegedly]
drunk, got into a street fight, yelled an
anti-Semitic slur and got arrested?"
The Detroit Tigers' front office issued
an official statement: "We are aware
of the situation, however it is our club
policy not to comment on pending legal
matters ... Per a provision in the Major
League Baseball Basic Agreement,
any allegation that involves alcohol is
referred to MLB's Employee Assistance
Program."
Miller considers that only the first
legal step in the process for the Tigers.
"They will also have to help Young issue
an apology to Jewish people for his anti-
Semitic slur. There are several issues at
play here: his abuse of alcohol, his anger
management issues and his use of an
anti-Semitic epithet:' blogged Miller.
Young issued his own apology on
Friday, which did not mention the
alleged anti-Semitic slur:
"I sincerely regret what happened
last night. I apologize to everyone I
affected, the Ilitch family, the Detroit

Detroit Tiger Delmon Young

Tigers' organization, my teammates,
my family and the great Tigers' fans
that have supported me since day one.
I take this matter very seriously and
assure everyone that I will do every-
thing I can to improve myself as a per-
son and player."
It's not Young's first angry outburst.
In 2006, he was suspended for 50 games
without pay by the International League
for throwing a bat that hit a replace-
ment umpire in the chest. He later
apologized to the umpire.
Storm Kirschenbaum, owner of Metis
Sports Management in Birmingham,
called the news of Young's arrest "com-
pletely unfortunate!'
"Delmon Young has a past history of
issues on and off the field. Everyone had
assumed he grew up',' Kirschenbaum
said. "I know that Young's agent is
Jewish, so I doubt that Young is a Jew-
hater. I think the incident was due to
intoxication."
The Detroit Tigers were in New York
for a series against the Yankees begin-
ning on Friday night. Young is hitting
.242 with one home run and five RBIs
in 18 games. Young was placed on the
restricted list and did not play in the
three-game series, which the Tigers
lost, 2-1. He underwent a psychological
evaulation Monday.
Major League Baseball suspended
Young for seven days without pay, retro-
active to April 27. The suspension will
cost Young more than $250,000, accord-
ing to the Detroit News.
"To my 8-year-old son, all of the
Detroit Tigers are heroes:' Miller
blogged. "The Tigers need to get Young
help and they need to tackle this matter
head on or it will become an even worse
PR nightmare."

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