Gwangju Ilgo coach says players 'not ready' to accept apology after 'Starbucks' taunt at high school baseball tournament

The coach of Gwangju Jeil High School's baseball team has spoken out about the mental state of his players following a controversy in which members of Baejae High School's team directed a so-called "Starbucks taunt" at them during a national high school baseball tournament.

Coach Jo Yun-chae appeared Tuesday before the Korea Baseball Softball Association's Sports Fair Play Committee, held at Olympic Parktel in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where he gave a statement to committee members about what happened.

Regarding the team's situation during the incident, Jo said his players "were a little unsettled at the time, but we had to play our game first, and since we had to finish the match no matter what, I encouraged the players and we got through it."

He added that after the game, when players told him what had happened, he said he was "really grateful that they held back and finished the game well." He said the players have continued to follow news coverage of the incident and "are not in a good state of mind."

He also said he was worried that "we have another game coming up, and I'm concerned this mood will carry over."

Jo said it was the first time he had encountered chants laced with regional discrimination and contempt at a national tournament. "There have been some mildly critical or mocking chants before, but nothing like this," he said.

He stressed that coaches have a responsibility to keep instilling fair-play values in student athletes. "These young players are future talents who will go on to play professional baseball. Leaders must continuously educate them so they truly embrace fair play and compete with integrity when they reach the pros," he said.

On the question of a formal apology visit from Baejae High School, Jo said his players' "hearts are still closed," and that he planned to inform Baejae that Gwangju Ilgo would be willing to receive an apology once the players had calmed down and were ready.

Some Baejae High School players abruptly began chanting "Let's go to Starbucks" — accompanied by a dance — toward the Gwangju Ilgo dugout during their 81st Cheongnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship and Weekend League Finals match at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on June 29. Some players also shouted "Tank Day."

The chant was widely condemned as a mocking reference to the controversy surrounding Starbucks Korea's so-called "May 18 Tank Day" promotional event last month, which was criticized for trivializing the May 18 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju.

Jo said he did not hear the chant at the time because he was at the back of the dugout during the top of the eighth inning. He learned of it when his head coach grew angry and said, "That Starbucks chant is too much." Jo said he then asked the home plate umpire to either warn the players to stop or eject them.

Baejae High School also recognized the gravity of the situation and instructed its coach to personally intervene and stop the players.

Jo said the Baejae coach, who was stationed at third base, "pointed toward his own bench and gave instructions to warn the players."

Speaking on CBS Radio's "Park Seong-tae's News Show," Jo said the umpire responded by saying he would issue a warning and walked over to make some kind of gesture. Jo said he could not say exactly how the warning was delivered or what sanctions were applied. The chants were not heard again after that, he said.

Baejae High School had initially planned to visit Gwangju Ilgo in person to apologize, but the two schools agreed to coordinate on the timing at a later date out of consideration for the Gwangju Ilgo students' well-being.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Tuesday that Baejae High School had conveyed its intention to have its staff, baseball players and their parents visit Gwangju Ilgo in person to offer a sincere apology, but that Gwangju Ilgo had asked them to reconsider visiting that day, saying the students were not yet emotionally ready to receive one.

The education office said Baejae High School "clearly intends to visit and apologize in person at any time, but no specific date has been set at this point," and asked media outlets to refrain from speculative reporting for the sake of protecting students at both schools and reaching an amicable resolution.

Meanwhile, Baejae High School plans to refer the players who shouted the chant to its student life education committee for disciplinary action under school rules, and has also decided to provide the entire baseball team with education on sportsmanship and human rights awareness.