Drunken MLB Player Charged with Hate Crime

Detroit Tiger's star says he wants to improve himself "as person and player"

The arrest of Detroit Tiger’s Delmon Young for assaulting 32-year-old Jason Shank outside a Manhattan Hilton hotel Friday is being cited as a hate crime.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Shank and three companions were entering the hotel after giving $25 to a Jewish panhandler wearing a yarmulke and Star of David.

Young then shouted “f------ Jew,” prompting Shank’s group to tell the ballplayer to calm down, police said.

Young allegedly shoved Shank and the fight escalated from there. The outfielder was arrested at the hotel and taken to a local hospital because he was so heavily intoxicated.

Young was then booked on charges of aggravated harassment—a misdemeanor hate crime.

He released a statement after the incident, saying he wants to “improve myself as a person and player.”

Young was once suspended for 50 games in the minor leagues for throwing a bat at an umpire in 2006. Since that accident, Young has managed to stay out of major trouble, until now.