Mariners President & CEO Kevin Mather releases official statement

For almost exactly 22 hours after his February 5th remarks to the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club were uncovered on Twitter, Kevin Mather remained silent.

He didn’t say a word when it came up in the Lookout Landing comments this morning. He didn’t say a word when we published the full transcript earlier today (although the original video did disappear from YouTube later). He didn’t say a word when local reporters started calling him out. And he didn’t say a word when national baseball writers started weighing in, calling for his departure.

But he did, finally, release an official statement Sunday night.

As some have noted, you can pick out the individual sentences that were crafted with a lawyer’s help, hopefully to avoid an inevitable grievance from Logan Gilbert or Jarred Kelenic. While that’s not surprising, I wonder if Mather could have released a video statement, or found some other way to come across a little more sincere.

Per Ryan Divish and other Seattle media members, the Mariners are planning to release a statement tomorrow morning. Personally, I question whether people in or around the Mariners’ orbit — whether prospects, current players, agents, coaches, or various front office members — can trust Mather in a leadership capacity. And that lack of trust is enough to justify a change in leadership, regardless of how problematic you view his words or how sincerely you accept his apology.

We’ll have more coverage in the hours and days to come.