Globe and Mail Public Editor: Evidence suggests Jays game racism story is fair

I get a lot of passionate e-mails from readers, especially sports fans and political partisans, who have strong feelings about whether a column is fair or a story is accurate.

This week, the story that garnered that heat was about the Toronto Blue Jays’ wild card victory on Tuesday night. Not about whether a beer can was thrown near Baltimore outfielder Hyun Soo Kim – there is video evidence for all to see – but about the report that racial slurs had been hurled toward Mr. Kim and another Baltimore outfielder, Adam Jones.

Regarding the Globe and Mail story, one reader said it was a “terrible headline and inaccurate reporting. O’s outfielder never said Toronto fans yelled racial slurs. … It was a general response. He did not say yeah, the fans were yelling racial slurs at me tonight. Did the author witness this?”

Another reader called for a correction, saying: “As a fan who was sitting in Section 136 directly above where Kim was stationed for most of the game I can confirm that no racial slurs were used whatsoever. … I appreciate that you’re trying to be edgy and tackle the tough issues but this is factually incorrect and a misinterpretation of the quote.”

But what these fans overlook is that the report was attributed to USA Today baseball writer Bob Nightengale, who tweeted, “There were also racial slurs hurled towards Kim and Jones, Adam Jones said.”

Mr. Nightengale had written an article a few weeks ago on baseball and race that quoted Mr. Jones, so clearly the two know each other well.

Continue reading this story on The Globe and Mail website, where it was first published