Houston paper apologizes for quoting Carlos Gomez’s broken English
The Houston Chronicle has apologized after publishing an article that directly quoted broken English from Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez.
In the article written on May 4, Brian T. Smith placed much of the blame for the Astros early struggles on Gomez. It’s arguable whether putting the focus on Gomez was justified or completely accurate. While Gomez has been mired in a season-long slump, he’s far from the only reason they’re off to a disappointing 15-23 start.
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Either way, that’s Smith’s opinion, and he’s certainly entitled to that.
What’s not arguable, though, is that Smith should have used better judgment in quoting Gomez within his article. Gomez, who comes from Santiago in the Dominican Republic, does not speak English as his primary language. He speaks well enough English though that his words are understandable and translatable, yet Smith elected to quote Gomez’s broken English word-for-word.
“For the last year and this year, I not really do much for this team. The fans be angry. They be disappointed,” said Gomez as he roamed center field against the team with which he spent 2008-09.
As many have noted, quoting people whose speech is marked by dialect or incorrect grammar can present difficult choices for writers. However, they have to know that when the line is crossed, it can be needlessly embarrassing to the person while serving no real purpose to accuracy of the story.
Granted, there is something to be said for getting an accurate quote. There’s also something to be said for empathy and understanding that a player is doing his best to communicate, and in this case own up to his struggles on the field.
As a result of the ensuing backlash, Houston Chronicle Editor Nancy Barnes offered this apology to Richard Prince at his Journal-isms blog on Friday,
Barnes told Journal-isms by email, “With regards to quoting Carlos Gomez: We sincerely apologize for any offense that was taken. Our writers are encouraged to adhere to AP style rules, which are quoted below. I reviewed the rules myself after this arose and found the guidelines on quotes to be less than adequate for a community like ours, full of immigrants from all over the world, and for whom English is often a second language. I’ve asked some top editors to review this policy, research best practices, and recommend guidance for all of our writers in the future. We always want to be respectful of those we are interviewing.”
[Podcast: Carlos Gomez on dabs, swag and his passion for the game]
Respect is the key word here. No matter the language a person speaks, they deserve respect when they’re giving respect. You don’t have to like Carlos Gomez, either. A lot of people don’t like him because they feel some of his antics on the field are disrespectul. But he was being a stand up person in this instance, and that wasn’t reflected or acknowledged appropriately.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
