Ex-Mariners Employee Lorena Martin Alleges Front Office Calls Latinos Lazy, Dumb
November 13, 2018
Former Seattle Mariners employee Dr. Lorena Martin alleged in an Instagram post Monday that general manager Jerry Dipoto, manager Scott Servais and director of player development Andy McKay called Latinos "lazy, dumb and stupid."
Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported the Mariners had terminated Martin's contract. She was hired last offseason as the team's director of high performance. The club released a statement on the allegations:
"While it is our policy to not comment on personnel issues, we do feel it is important to respond to the outrageous, false claims made by her today on social media. And to note that Martin did not make any of these false allegations until after she was relieved of her duties.
"The Mariners categorically deny that any member of our management or coaching staff made racist remarks regarding any of our players or staff. Additionally, we have not terminated (or threatened to terminate) any trainers during the off-season."
Divish shared Martin's post, which stated, "It's come to the point where I have to speak out because they are firing innocent trainers for trying to do the right thing and because of their color/race."
The Mariners are attempting to avoid paying the rest of Martin's three-year deal, Divish reported.
Martin specifically pointed to leadership she said was "all talk, no substance" as the reason Seattle has failed to make the playoffs during Dipoto's tenure.
Dipoto was named general manager in September 2015. The Mariners missed the playoffs in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and have not qualified for the postseason since the 2001 campaign.