Cho Yun-chae, manager of the Gwangju Jeil High School baseball team, said, "As the issue has grown, the players keep watching the news and are not feeling good. We have to play the next game, and I'm worried this mood will keep lingering."
On the 1st, Manager Cho appeared before the Korea Baseball Softball Association Sports Fairness Committee at Olympic Parktel in Bangi-dong, Songpa District, gave his account of the situation to the commissioners, and then told reporters the same.
He said, "In the top of the eighth inning, when the controversial chant came out, I was inside the dugout and did not hear it," adding, "Our head coach got angry and that's how I found out."
He added, "I told the plate umpire that the players were doing this kind of chant and asked him to either warn them to refrain or eject them, and the Baejae High School manager also pointed to his bench and directed that the kids be warned."
Manager Cho said, "Our players were a bit shaken at the time, but we had to play our game first and finish no matter what, so by calming the players, we were able to complete the game."
Manager Cho also recalled, "After the game, after I heard from the players, I told them, 'You held it in well. Thank you so much for finishing the game well.'" He added that this was the first time he had encountered such cheering at a national tournament.
Manager Cho said, "There have been cheers that were a bit critical or mocking of each other, but this was the first time I'd seen it like this," adding, "These are prospects who will have to play in professional baseball, so coaches need to educate them to play fair."
Regarding Baejae High School's visit to apologize, Manager Cho said, "The players' hearts are still closed," adding, "Once their hearts ease and they feel stable, we plan to tell Baejae High School that we will accept the apology."
The controversy began on the 29th, when the Baejae High School baseball team chanted "We should go to Starbucks" during the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship and weekend league champions' game against Gwangju Jeil High School.
Late in the game, with Baejae High School leading 6-2, some players in the Baejae dugout chanted the phrase and danced, and as video of the scene spread through online communities, criticism poured in that it was "regional discrimination."
The association convened a fairness committee that day to deliberate disciplinary measures for the Baejae High School players who sparked the controversy. The aim was to determine whether the issue warrants discipline.
Under association rules, acts that severely damage the dignity of athletes or cause public controversy are grounds for discipline. The subjects and level of discipline are determined after an investigation and committee deliberation.