The controversy over Steve Carlton's alleged anti-Semitic remarks is quieting down, which seems appropriate for the formerly silent left-hander.
David V. Kahn, president of the American Jewish Congress, on Thursday welcomed Carlton's statement disavowing a number of inflammatory positions attributed to the pitcher in Philadelphia Magazine.Kahn said his organization no longer opposes Carlton's induction into the Hall of Fame.
"Steve Carlton was undoubtedly one of baseball's most outstanding pitchers. We are relieved to hear from him that he denies making remarks that could be interpreted as offensive to Jews and that he finds them as repugnant as we do. Just as baseball embodies our best American tradition, so does Mr. Carlton's rejection and repudiation of bigotry."
The AJC reacted angrily to the article and asked that the pitcher be barred from enshrinement in Cooperstown. Of particular concern were references to The Elders of Zion and 12 Jewish bankers meeting in Switzerland and ruling the world.
Carlton, elected to the Hall in January and due for induction on July 31, issued a statement in which he said, "I have just become aware of the request for an apology from the American Jewish Congress. I join with them in calling for an apology for the insensitive remarks attributed to me by Pat Jordan, the man who wrote the article in question.
"The article has almost no truth in it. I reject it completely. It is wrong about my baseball career, my personal beliefs, my family life and my new hometown. There are so many errors that it would be foolish to try to correct them individually. But let me say that I specifically deny saying anything that could be interpreted as offensive to Jewish people. I stand on my long record of treating all teammates and opponents with the same respect, be they Jewish, black or white."
Carlton said that Sandy Koufax, a Jew, was one of his role models and that he would be appearing at an event with Koufax in the near future.
Jordan, a minor-league pitcher before turning to writing, stood by his story, which he developed in a two-day visit to Carlton's 400-acre ranch near Durango, Colo.
"I went there and I wrote what he said and I don't care what he says," Jordan said from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "I didn't invent this stuff."