Fan absolved in Colorado Rockies racism investigation

On Sunday, the Colorado Rockies were forced to conduct an investigation that they likely never expected. With Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson at the plate, the broadcast picked up a fan yelling something. At the time, and with the quality of the audio, it sounded as though a racial slur was being hurled at Brinson.

But that may not be the case. According to the Rockies’ investigation, the fan in question was shouting “Dinger,” attempting to get the attention of the team’s mascot.

Colorado Rockies investigation shows no malicious intent

The Rockies took the time to review the broadcast audio in question, listening for themselves to hear what was said. They also spoke with the fan, who claims that he was just trying to get Dinger’s attention to wave over at his area.

The explanation does make sense. On a broadcast with the microphones being a good distance away, Dinger could certainly sound like something else when muffled. Likewise, the other fans in the area were turned in that direction, potentially looking at the mascot instead of glaring at someone who was hurling racist taunts.

This investigation, although done quickly, was impressive in how thoroughly it was conducted. The team spoke with several people on the diamond, including Brinson himself, who all said that they did not hear anything derogatory. They worked with the broadcasting team to find where the microphone was, and were able to ascertain that Dinger was near that area in question.

At a time when racist rhetoric has been on the rise, it is good to know that was not actually the case here. Brinson was not receiving vile taunts, and imperfect audio led to a shout to the Rockies’ mascot sounding as though something else was said. Fortunately, that is all that happened.

The Colorado Rockies have concluded their investigation into possible racist taunts during Sunday’s game. Fortunately, it was just bad audio making Dinger sound like something else.