Forty years after he received waves of racist hate mail as he chased Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs, Hank Aaron has been reliving the experience the past week.
A national newspaper reported that a large number of vile letters, e-mails and phone calls have “poured into the Atlanta Braves offices.” They, ironically, were in reaction to comments Aaron made to USA Today concerning the old hate mail that he stores in the attic of his Atlanta home.
Explaining to USA Today’s national baseball writer Bob Nightengale why he keeps the decades-old letters, Aaron in an April 8 story said that they served as a constant reminder of the blight of racism. As Aaron veered into politics, he spoke of the stalemate between President Obama and Republicans. He also spoke of the different form – a more white-collar form – that racism took today.
As the story was constructed, some interpreted his comments as likening Republicans to the Ku Klux Klan. That interpretation spread through various conservative web sites and was even commented upon by national radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Triggered was an outpouring of correspondence to the Braves, some of it littered with racial epithets.
In a story Tuesday on those letters, Nightengale included a clarification of his original interview with Aaron:
“Never in our 50-minute conversation did Aaron suggest anyone critical of President Obama is racist. Never did he compare the Republican Party to the Ku Klux Klan.
“Simply, Aaron stated that we are fooling ourselves if we don’t believe racism exists in our country. It’s simply camouflaged now. And, yes, he feels sorry for his good friend, President Obama, and the frustrations he endures.”
Neither the Braves nor Aaron have had any further comment on the matter.
