Minnesota Twins Remove Statue Of Calvin Griffith

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins on Friday announced that the club has removed the statue of Calvin Griffith outside Target Field when the stadium opened in 2010. The decision was made over his "disparaging words" that "displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the Black community."

Griffith owned the Washington Senators and relocated them to the Twin Cities so they could become the Minnesota Twins in 1961.

In 1978, Griffith was quoted in the Star Tribune saying he moved the team to Minnesota because there were fewer Black people in the state.

Read the full statement from the Twins below:

When we opened Target Field in 2010 in conjunction with our 50th season in Minnesota, we were excited and proud to welcome fans to our ‘forever ballpark.’ As such, we wanted to pay permanent tribute to those figures and moments that helped shape the first half-century of Minnesota Twins baseball – including a statue of Calvin Griffith, our former owner and the man responsible for moving the franchise here in 1961.

While we acknowledge the prominent role Calvin Griffith played in our history, we cannot remain silent and continue ignoring the racist comments he made in Waseca in 1978. His disparaging words displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the Black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value.

Our decision to memorialize Calvin Griffith with a statue reflects an ignorance on our part of systemic racism present in 1978, 2010 and today. We apologize for our failure to adequately recognize how the statue was viewed and the pain it caused for many people – both inside the Twins organization and across Twins Territory. We cannot remove Calvin Griffith from the history of the Minnesota Twins, but we believe removal of this statue is an important and necessary step in our ongoing commitment to provide a Target Field experience where every fan and employee feels safe and welcome.

Past, present or future, there is no place for racism, inequality and injustice in Twins Territory.

Griffith's statue is the second sculpture to be taken down over racism in the Twin Cities following the death of George Floyd.

The 10-foot tall bronze sculpture of Christopher Columbus at the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol is no longer standing. Demonstrators toppled it earlier this month, saying it was a symbol of genocide.