BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : Schott Apologizes, Gets No Penalty

Cincinnati Red owner Marge Schott avoided disciplinary action by major league baseball and apologized for praising the start of Adolf Hitler’s term as German chancellor during an ESPN interview shown on Sunday.

“I do not and have never condoned Adolf Hitler’s policy of hatred, militarism and genocide,” Schott said in a statement. “Hitler was unquestionably one of history’s most despicable tyrants. Anyone who knows me knows how much I respect the brave soldiers who sacrificed so much to defeat the Nazis in World War II.

“I also know that many American families, including mine, had relatives in Europe who suffered greatly during the war. It is distressing that my comments did not adequately convey my true feelings. I’m very sorry that my remarks . . . offended many people. This was not my intent at all. Sometimes I do not always express myself well, as in this instance.

“I will continue to try and be more sensitive to all people, and in the future will be more careful of what I say and to whom. The last thing I wish to do is offend anyone or embarrass the Reds, the city of Cincinnati or the great American game of baseball.”

Acting Commissioner Bud Selig issued the following response: “We are gratified that Mrs. Schott has issued an apology to the American public. However, major league baseball is still saddened and disappointed by the comments she made Sunday night. We in no way concur with her interpretation of history. We will continue to monitor the situation.”

On Feb. 2, 1993, baseball’s executive council suspended Schott for a year and fined her $25,000 for bringing “disrepute and embarrassment” to baseball with her repeated use of racial and ethnic slurs. She was also ordered to undergo sensitivity counseling, but in the ESPN interview she repeated many of her 1993 remarks, saying of Hitler, “Everything you read, when he came in he was good. . . . Everybody knows he was good at the beginning, but he just went too far.”

Asked if discipline was considered, a baseball official said “it’s likely we’d have done something if she hadn’t agreed to the statement, but how do you discipline stupidity?”