via @lorenahighperformance
Lorena Martin, the former Director of High Performance for the Seattle Mariners, has taken to Instagram to accuse high-ranking officials in the organization of racism.
According to her post, Martin claims general manager Jerry Dipoto, manager Scott Servais and director of player development Andy McKay are prejudiced towards Latin American players, calling them “lazy, dumb, and stupid.”
In addition, Martin claimed that Seattle Mariners officials were specifically prejudiced towards players of Dominican descent.
via Instagram:
“The Mariners organization has major issues. The things I’ve witnessed and heard first hand have left me shocked. How can their GM Jerry Dipoto, manager Scott Servais and director of player development Andy McKay speak about their players like this. … Calling LATINOS LAZY, DUMB, and STUPID, especially the DOMINICANS.”
She added, “And then they wondered why they didn’t make it to the playoffs. Leadership is to blame, under Jerry Dipoto’s leadership no team has made it to the playoffs and they will continue to miss the playoffs with him in his position. Poor leadership. It’s come to the point where I have to speak out because they are firing innocent trainers for trying to do the right thing and because of their color/race.”
Following Martin’s claims, the Seattle Mariners denied released a statement to the Seattle Times denying her allegations, calling them “absolutely false and ludicrous.”
These are claims are not true. They are absolutely false and ludicrous. She is fabricating stories, including her reports to human resources and the people named in this story. In at least one instance, there was a witness in the room that can confirm that the stories did not happen as she related they did,” the Seattle Mariners statement to the Seattle Times read in part.
via Tacoma News-Tribune:
Martin told The News Tribune that Dipoto, in a meeting with Martin and McKay in January, called her a “cocky Latina.” In that same meeting McKay said Dominican players are “just plain stupid” and, in a separate meeting, Servais told her that you don’t see Latino catchers or managers because “they aren’t bright enough. They are dumb.”
Martin said she reported these incidents in several meetings with the team’s human resources since spring training and to multiple Mariners staff members. She said she felt she was fired in retaliation for that. She also said she has hired an attorney and is seeking wrongful termination.
Martin was hired as the newly created position of Director of High Performance on October 30, 2017.