Marge Schott
From Wikinfo
Marge Schott (August 18, 1928 - March 2, 2004) was the controversial primary owner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds for nearly fifteen years.
In 1981, Schott first purchased a stake in the Cincinnati Reds. In late 1984, Marge Schott became a general partner and majority owner in the Reds organization and in 1985, she was named President and CEO of the club.
In 1992, Schott became embroiled in controversy after allegedly calling former Reds Eric Davis and Dave Parker, "million-dollar niggers." It was also alleged that Schott had a swastika armband at home. On November 14, Schott issued a statement saying that she was "not a racist." On November 29, she was quoted in the New York Times as saying that Adolf Hitler was initially good for Germany and that she didn't understand why the slur "Jap" was offensive. Major League Baseball appointed a committee to investigate Schott.
On February 3, 1993, Marge Schott was fined US $25,000 and banned from day-to-day operations of the Reds for the year stemming from her use of racial and ethnic slurs. She returned to work on November 1.
On May 18, 1994, Schott was again caught up in controversy saying that she didn't want her players to wear earrings saying that "only fruits wear earrings." On May 5, 1996, Schott again said that she thought Hitler "was good in the beginning, but went too far." In response, Major League Baseball again banned Schott from day-to-day operations through 1998.
On April 20, 1999, Marge Schott agreed to sell her controlling interest in the Cincinnati Reds to a group led by Cincinnati businessman, Carl Lindner. Schott continued to own a limited share of the team, however.
In 2001, Schott, a long-time smoker, began to develop health problems. She was hospitalized twice for breathing problems and suffered from pneumonia in 2003. On February 9, 2004, Marge Schott was hospitalized. Some reports claim Schott was hospitalized due to a cold while others said she complained of knee ailments. However, during her stay, Schott developed breathing problems and had to be put on life support. She died on March 2.
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Marge_Schott" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_Schott, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
