Cal Ripken Jr - Baltimore Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. has denied ever hazing or abusing rookies. His statement comes after former catcher Gregg Zaun recounted stories of Ripken and other veterans hazing him.
Zaun, who played with the Orioles in 1995 and 1996, made the statement last week during an interview on a Toronto radio station. He recounted stories of Ripken Jr and other veterans enforcing strict clubhouse hierarchy.
Zaun portrayed Ripken Jr as a clubhouse bully who destroyed his suit because he crossed an imaginary line on the team's plane. He also said Ripken Jr held him down on a table and punched his ribcage repeatedly.
However, despite his stories of being abused and hazed, Zaun says he is not bitter about it, but grateful because the experience 'kept him in line' and made him 'a better person' and a 'better player'.
"As soon as I mention a guy like Cal, who obviously is one of the greatest professionals of all time, I should have known that this was going to come," Zaun said.
"And I hope he's not upset with me for sharing the story. I'm not [upset] for having gone through it. I know I has made a better person, a better player, a better man by the lessons that I was taught by the veteran clubhouse presence of guys like Cal, Brady [Anderson], Chris Hoiles, McDonald, Kevin Bass, Bret Barberie. It just goes on and on."
Ripken Jr would have none of it, especially in 2015 when bullying and hazing is seriously frowned on. On Monday, he released a statement to clear his reputation by explicitly denying being a clubhouse bully.
"I don't know how it got all out of whack. He apologized and said he used the wrong words. There was no abuse, there was no hazing. It doesn't do anything for team unity. He knows that and everybody who knows me knows that," Ripken Jr said.
"I spoke to other veterans on those teams who stated that rookie hazing never took place and Ripken never drew an imaginary line at the back of the plane to prevent young players from entering. In fact, he would invite them to the rear of the charter to learn how to clean blue crabs, which he'd occasional provide on flights."
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