CINCINNATI — At a ceremony honoring the 2023 Johnny Bench Awards winners, the World Series champion once again spoke about the antisemitic joke he made during a Reds Hall of Fame press conference over the weekend.
Danny Graves, Bronson Arroyo and the late Gabe Paul were selected to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame this year. During their press conference Saturday, Paul's daughter Jennie spoke about her father's time as Cincinnati's general manager and his dedication to helping minority players.
“He was a minority himself — I don’t know if many of you know that he was Jewish," Jennie Paul said. "He was a very big proponent for the underdog because he was an underdog himself. He went into the Latin leagues and the Negro leagues and he signed as many minority players as he could. Which strengthened the Reds. You have a team in Cincinnati today because of Gabe Paul, I’m so proud to be representing him so thank you so much."
Later on, Reds great Pete Rose spoke about signing a contract out of high school "for $400 a month."
"That’s cheap!" Jennie Paul interrupted.
After a few laughs, Johnny Bench chimed in.
"He was Jewish!" Bench said across the stage.
Bench later apologized, saying in a statement: "I recognize my comment was insensitive. I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves. Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage, I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe's achievement."
On Tuesday, Bench said he wanted to stand by his statement.
"It's out there on the box score," Bench said. "People know I misstepped and I apologized for it and that's where it will stay from now on. I've got too many people that I respect and love to offend at any point anyone at any time."
The American Jewish Committee said that while they appreciated his apology, it was disheartening to learn about Bench's remark.
