Twins remove statue of former team owner Calvin Griffith because of racist comments he made in 1978

The Minnesota Twins are making things right after controversial comments from one of their former owners became public knowledge.

The team confirmed that they have removed the statue of Calvin Griffith from Target Field after it was revealed why he relocated the team to Minnesota from Washington, D.C. in the early 60’s.

“I’ll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here. Black people don’t go to ball games, but they’ll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it’ll scare you to death. It’s unbelievable. We came here because you’ve got good, hardworking, white people here.” said Griffith to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune back in 1978.

The team released a statement about the decision to remove the statue.

“While we acknowledge the prominent role Calvin Griffith played in our history, we cannot remain silent and continue ignoring the racist comments he made in Waseca in 1978…His disparaging words displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value.”