Johnny Bench Apologizes for Antisemitic Joke at Reds Hall of Fame

Johnny Bench, a Hall of Fame catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, apologized for making an antisemitic joke during the team's Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday for former general manager Gabe Paul and former pitchers Danny Graves and Bronson Arroyo.

After Paul was inducted Saturday, Bench joked that Paul had signed Pete Rose for $400 per month out of high school. Paul's daughter Jennie Paul responded by saying, "That's cheap," which prompted Bench to remark, "He was Jewish," according to WCPO.

On Sunday, Bench issued an apology and called his joke "insensitive."

"I recognize my comment was insensitive. I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves," he said. "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."

Jennie Paul had mentioned her father's Judaism earlier in the news conference.

"He was a minority himself; I don't know if many of you know that he was Jewish," she 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."

Jennie Paul later said she did not hear Bench's remark when asked whether she was offended.

"I didn't even hear him say that," she said, according to Yahoo! Sports. "Johnny came up and said, 'Were you offended?' And I said, 'For what?' I didn't even hear him say that. I suppose if I would've heard him say that, I would've said something, but I didn't even hear him say that."

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