No, it's not time to forgive Oakland A's broadcaster for use of racial slur. Not yet.

 The first I heard about Oakland Athletics television broadcaster Glen Kuiper using a racial slur during Friday's pregame show was a tweet from Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick. If you don't know Kendrick, he is a living, breathing superhero. One of the classiest human beings not just in baseball, but in all of sports. His words carry substantial weight.

"I'm aware of the unfortunate slur made by Glen Kuiper. I welcomed Glen to the NLBM yesterday and know he was genuinely excited to be here," Kendrick tweeted Saturday. "The word is painful and has no place in our society. And while I don't pretend to know Glen's heart, I do know that my heart is one of forgiveness. I hope all of you will find it in yourselves to do the same."

I will not. At least for now. Here's why:

I watched the video.

Kendrick makes an arguable point, but I'm not sure how anyone would buy it after watching the video. It's a truly staggering thing to see. Kuiper doesn't fumble over his words or get tongue-tied. He just says it and continues on. Almost as problematic is the reaction of color commentator Dallas Braden, who also just proceeds on the broadcast like nothing happened.

Kuiper was attempting to explain to viewers that he and Braden visited Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. But instead of "Negro" he said the other thing.

It was later announced by an NBC Sports California spokesperson that Kuiper was suspended until a review of the incident was complete. Not sure what they're going to review exactly...there's a video.

Do I think Kuiper purposefully decided to demolish his career live on air? No. And as Kendrick stated, it's impossible to see into Kuiper's heart. Also, I'm not saying he should be "canceled." Whatever that means. Or that he shouldn't ever work again. thing.

It was later announced by an NBC Sports California spokesperson that Kuiper was suspended until a review of the incident was complete. Not sure what they're going to review exactly...there's a video.

Do I think Kuiper purposefully decided to demolish his career live on air? No. And as Kendrick stated, it's impossible to see into Kuiper's heart. Also, I'm not saying he should be "canceled." Whatever that means. Or that he shouldn't ever work again. There's a larger story here.

Over the past seven years or so, there's been a rise not just in acts of hate but seemingly a rise in the language of hate. There will be hundreds of books written about the white nationalist rhetoric Tucker Carlson used for years before he was fired. Hate speech increased dramatically on Twitter after Elon Musk purchased the site. Overall, there's an empathy deficit. There are too many people who fling indecent and hurtful language like animals tossing feces at people walking by their cage, and don't care about the harm they cause.

All of that pairs with something else: the inability of people to sincerely say "I'm sorry" in the moment. After Kuiper said what he said, he issued a weak sauce apology

"A little bit earlier in the show," he said, "I said something, didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to. I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. As I said, I just wanted to apologize for that."

I just wanted to apologize if it sounded different than I meant it to be said. What does that even mean?

Glen Kuiper suspended:Athletics broadcaster suspended after saying racial slur on air

Perhaps realizing the Level One Weakness of that apology, NBC Sports California issued another statement from Kuiper: “I could not be more sorry and horrified by what I said. I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies.”

I will not. At least for now. Here's another reason why:

We all make mistakes. Even bad ones. But it feels like we're in a different type of era in this country now. There are too many people almost gleeful over the ugliness taking hold in our bloodstream. In the past, so many of these horrors were relegated to the butt cracks and sewer systems of the nation but now they are front and center on television, social media and even our politics. This past week, a former Trump White House press secretary, now a Fox News host set to replace Carlson, made a racist joke that barely caused a blip. The blatant racism is so pervasive that it blends in with a sea of other blatant racism.

Kuiper likely isn't in the same racist neighborhood as someone like Carlson, but the reason I can't quite forgive yet is we have to forcefully push back against all of this ugliness, even if it's less purposeful, like Kuiper's remark. No more leeway. No immediate forgiveness. In the long-term? Possibly.

For now? For right now? No way.