The Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation, a nonprofit that continues to support Cincinnati organizations, released a statement following recent controversy surrounding the organization’s namesake. Marge Schott, the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, has been suspended and fined several times from Major League Baseball for making racist and anti-Semitic comments. Her name has come under scrutiny across the Cincinnati area following nationwide protests against police brutality and racism that called for a change in applicable laws and institutions. From 1984 to 1999 Schott was active within the Reds organization. During this time, Schott continued to make racial and ethnic slurs against African Americans, Jews, and Japanese. She also gave generously to Cincinnati institutions, including the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Saint Ursula Academy, and others. Schott died in 2004 at the age of 75. On Thursday, Saint Ursula Academy officials announced they would be removing the name Marge Schott and her ubiquitous Saint Bernard Schottzie from two facilities on campus. Schott made a personal donation to Saint Ursula 20 years ago, with the help of which 20% of two capital projects were financed. In turn, the school named a building after the former Reds owner and a stadium after their beloved dog. A similar move to remove Schott’s name from the University of Cincinnati ballpark is also being discussed. After the move from Saint Ursula on Thursday, the still active Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation published the following statement: “Last week there was a public discussion about important financial gifts with naming rights from the Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation Community organizations related to the current conversation about racial equality. Although we cannot excuse Ms. Schott’s rhetoric decades ago, we can ask you to learn from Ms. Schott’s mistakes, her great love for Cincinnati. We appreciate what these great organizations are bringing to Cincinnati, and we fully support the decisions of the organizations that have received grants from the Foundation. We will continue to support the Cincinnati community and the important work of our charities and nonprofits. ”
CINCINNATI –
The Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation, a nonprofit that continues to support Cincinnati organizations, released a statement following recent controversy surrounding the organization’s namesake.
Marge Schott, the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds, has been suspended and fined several times from Major League Baseball for making racist and anti-Semitic comments.
Her name has been scrutinized across the Cincinnati area following nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, calling for a change in applicable laws and institutions.
Schott was active in the Reds organization from 1984 to 1999.
During this time, Schott used racial and ethnic slurs against African Americans, Jews, and Japanese. She also gave generously to Cincinnati institutions, including the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Saint Ursula Academy, and others.
Schott died in 2004 at the age of 75.
On Thursday, Saint Ursula Academy officials announced they would be removing the name Marge Schott and her ubiquitous Saint Bernard Schottzie from two facilities on campus. Schott made a personal donation to Saint Ursula 20 years ago, with the help of which 20% of two capital projects were financed. In turn, the school named a building after the former Reds owner and a stadium after their beloved dog.
A similar move to remove Schott’s name from the University of Cincinnati ballpark is also being discussed.
After moving from Saint Ursula on Thursday, the still active Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation released the following statement:
“Last week there were public discussions about important financial gifts with naming rights from the Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation to community organizations in connection with the current talk about racial equality.
While we cannot apologize for the rhetoric Ms. Schott used decades ago, we can ask you to learn from Ms. Schott’s mistakes and her great love for Cincinnati.
We appreciate what these great organizations are bringing to Cincinnati, and we fully support the decisions of the organizations that have received grants from the Foundation.
We will continue to support the Cincinnati community and the important work of our charities and nonprofits. “
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