Frequent racist remarks in live broadcasts are not new to Korean baseball fans. Some commentators regularly deliver such ignorant slurs.



"Have you been to the Dominican Republic? No streetlight outside Santo Domingo. And you can't even see them at night because their skin is too dark," Lee Soon-chul, the former Kia Tigers outfielder and LG Twins manager, joked while calling a game few days ago.



Lee's comments were offensive and depressingly familiar. After all, baseball viewers have had to put up with comments such as "He is impatient at the plate because he is Mexican" or "Hispanic players are loud and hot-tempered."



The Korea Baseball Organization doesn't even believe that Lee's comments are worth talking about.



If a commentator makes remarks like this in any sport in the U.S., he or she will be in big trouble. LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was severely criticized after his racist comments during a cell phone conversation with his girlfriend went public. If a commentator does the same during a live broadcast in the U.S., the reaction will be even more serious.



Some people think such remarks are OK, because more than 90 percent of the people living in Korea are Korean, and the remarks are made in Korean. So why so serious?

But about 3 million people watch baseball in Korea every day. Those involved in the sport have a social responsibility not only to provide public entertainment but also to set common values _ including an end to racist remarks.