Marge's Mouth

USING THE WORD NIGGER GETS YOU KICKED OFF most teams. But since Marge Schott owns the Cincinnati Reds, she's probably not going anywhere. In depositions from a lawsuit filed against Schott by a former employee, several former Reds executives allege that they heard Schott refer to two players as her "million-dollar niggers." She denies using the phrase but admits using the N word. There are also charges that Schott has a swastika armband at home, but she argues that it's "memorabilia."

The suit has since been dismissed, but the charges live on, putting the city in an uproar and prompting a new look at racism in baseball. Atlanta Braves executive Hank Aaron called for an investigation. The N.A.A.C.P. hopes to use the controversy to compel Schott to hire more minorities; of 45 front-office staff, only one Red is black. Jesse Jackson has talked with Schott and wants to discuss hiring practices with other baseball-team owners as well.