Splinter's "Billionaire's Inbox" offers a look at how "the other half" lives, and its most recent dive is quite the eye-opener. The news outlet got its hands on what the New York Times calls "a cache of racist emails" both sent and received by Joe Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. Many of the emails, from between 2009 and 2013, centered on then-President Obama and conspiracy theories about him, including the false claim he's Muslim (he's Christian). In one email, sent in May 2012 to someone identified as "SV," Ricketts goes directly after Islam itself, writing, "Christians and Jews can have a mutual respect for each other to create a civil society. As you know, Islam cannot do that. ... Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy." Other topics include the alleged assault on Christianity, Obama's alleged past as a drug mule, and "racism" against whites.
The Times notes that both Major League Baseball and the Cubs, including members of his own family, are distancing themselves from Ricketts. "While many of the emails were not written by Mr. Ricketts, the content is extremely offensive and completely at odds with the values and principles of [MLB]," a statement from the league noted. Meanwhile, Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts, one of Ricketts' sons, issued a statement that called the emails "racially insensitive" and noted, "Let me be clear: The language and views expressed in those emails have no place in our society." He added that his father has no hand in the team's operations. On his website, Ricketts offered his own apology, saying he "received emails that I should have condemned" and "said things that don't reflect my value system. I strongly believe that bigoted ideas are wrong." (Reminiscent of Donald Sterling?)
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