metro
Back In Uniform
Delmon Young
apologizes for his
Tiger Delmon Young apologizes,
says he's not an anti-Semite.
conference in the
Tigers dugout.
Jackie Headapohl
Managing Editor
S
even days after being suspended
by Major League Baseball for an
arrest in New York City in which
he allegedly made an anti-Semitic slur,
Detroit Tiger Delmon Young was rein-
stated to the team Friday, May 4.
Prior to the game, the Tigers held a
press conference during which Young
apologized for his behavior, which, he said,
was fueled by alcohol.
"I'm sorry to all the fans; the Tigers,
my teammates and everybody out there
Young said. "I just want to let everyone
know I am not anti-Semitic. I was not
raised that way. I came from a good family
and we weren't taught any of that, espe-
cially growing up in a diverse area. I will
let my actions from here on out take care
of itself and show you guys that person
that's being portrayed is not me."
Young didn't offer any details of the
incident in New York City, in which he
allegedly got into a scuffle with a group
of tourists and hurled an anti-Semitic
slur. He faces a misdemeanor harass-
ment charge. When asked, Young said he
couldn't talk about it due to the ongoing
legal process.
"I put myself in a bad situation and I
have no one to blame but myself. I am
currently getting treatment in an alcohol
program through Major League Baseball
... I made a lapse in judgment, but I can
tell you that I am not anti-Semitic:'
Young said that being perceived as an
anti-Semite was hard to deal with. "That's
the toughest part, just being branded rac-
ist or a bigot, especially when that's just
not me. I have got a lot of diverse friends
and live in a diverse area and that's not me
and my character:'
In an effort to begin the process of
reconciliation, Young had quietly reached
out to Rabbi Joshua Bennett of Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield, also president-
elect of the Michigan Board of Rabbis,
the previous day. He also spoke with Scott
Kaufman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.
It was a "wonderful conversation:'
Bennett said. "Young seemed contrite and
remorseful and understood the impact
and angst his actions had on the Jewish
actions at a press
community."
Bennett said that
during their conversa-
tion, Young expressed
the desire to build
relationships within
Detroit's Jewish com-
munity and eventually
reach out to young
people. "He proved to
me that he's not anti-
Semitic, and I person-
ally accepted his apol-
ogy," Bennett said.
Tigers General
Manager Dave Dombrowski echoed that
sentiment at Friday's press conference.
"I've been around Delmon enough to
know that I feel he's a quality individual:
he said. "I think he made a mistake, and
he's committed to getting help. Again,
nobody really knows what happened. I
will say from all my experience and expo-
sure to Delmon Young, I've never felt he
was anti-Semitic. If we felt he was — or
any of our players were — it would not be
tolerated, and this would be handled corn-
pletely differently"
Bennett said that Young's actions could
not be made right by a simple apology.
"It's a first step: he said. "It will take some
time, but I feel he will be able to move
forward in a positive way as a result of the
incident."
Young returned to the Tigers lineup as
designated hitter in the May 5 match-up
with the Chicago White Sox in which the
Tigers lost 2-1. The crowd reaction was
mixed when Young took the plate. There
was polite applause and a few jeers. Young
batted 0-for-4 in the outing. ❑
Most Valuable Fan
Young Shayna Hersh meets her hero.
Mark Newman
MLB.com
B
efore Justin Verlander took the
mound April 27 in New York
City, Shayna "Verlander" Hersh,
an 11-year-old cystic fibrosis patient,
was back at the Tigers' team hotel, going
through her regular hour-and-15-minute
medical routine.
.
_
Shayna just might be the ace pitcher's
biggest fan. When she watches her
idol play, "It makes me want to jump:'
she said. Back at home in Huntington
Woods, the fifth-grader was nicknamed
"Verlander" by her supportive classmates
at Burton Elementary School.
At the Manhattan hotel, as she does
every day, Shayna put on her chest
therapy vest, which shakes the mucus out
of her lungs so she can breathe. Then, she
had breathing treatments with a nebu-
lizer, did inhalers and took a regimen of
pills.
That afternoon, her father, Joel, took
her on her first subway ride to the Bronx,
fibbing to her that she was going to visit
family she hadn't met before. The last
24 May 10 2012
thing she ever could have imagined was
that at the end of this secret journey she
was going to be watching her idol on the
hill that night at Yankee Stadium.
And even better, she'd get up the next
morning and be taken to the Major
League Baseball Fan Cave, a fan-centered
playhouse in Manhattan, for a surprise
rendezvous with Verlander himself —
and the chance to make friends with the
reigning American League Most Valuable
Player.
"When you're put on a pedestal, you're
afforded some opportunities: Verlander
told the Jewish News. "I was glad to be
able to surprise her like that and help
cheer her up."
When Verlander was told that Shayna's
dad took her to Yankee Stadium under
the guise of visiting a fictitious syna-
gogue called Beit Shel Ruth or "House of
Ruth" (a sly reference to legendary Yankee
home run slugger Babe Ruth), Shayna's
baseball hero broke into his huge, warm-
hearted smile.
Last summer, Shayna's mother, Ellina,
37, a first-generation U.S. citizen whose
parents came from Latvia, went into the
Shayna Hersh and Justin Verlander meet in the MLB Fan Cave in New York City.
hospital. She passed away from pancre-
atic and bile duct cancer just before this
school year started.
"Shayna basically spent the entire sum-
mer with baseball," Joel said. "I took her to
see her mother every day, and they would
spend the time watching Tigers games.
"Last fall, she started writing letters to
Justin Verlander," Joel said. "I subsequently
found out that she started writing his agent.
"Then I found out that the class had
sent in letters to the Tigers telling them
what a great person she was, what an
inspirational kid she is."
Verlander personally had the Hershes
flown to New York, got them tickets to
two games and arranged the surprise
meeting with her.
"It's such a touching story;' Verlander
said.
"What a beautiful little girl:'
❑
JN Senior Copy Editor-David Sachs
contributed to this report.