President Joe Biden made a speech on Veterans Day Thursday. During his remarks, he referred to the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige as “the great negro at the time.” It is unclear if it was intentional or a mishap, but either way, Twitter reacted immediately.
NOW – Biden tells a story about pitcher Satchel Paige, referring to him as “the great negro at the time.”pic.twitter.com/uwnkUlBTsL
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 11, 2021
Considered as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Paige excelled in the Negro League before breaking records in Major League Baseball. Conducted into the Hall of Fame, Paige is a legend not only in sports but also in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement. He is one of the first Black players ever to be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Given all that Paige accomplished, it is not difficult to see why people are disturbed by the speech. For President Biden to even seemingly refer to one of the greatest baseball players of all time as “the great negro at the time,” is disrespectful, and people on Twitter are not standing for it.
Here is a sampling of what is being said online.
Did Biden just say what I think he said?!
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 11, 2021