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Ng faced racism, discrimination on her way to the top

Kim Ng doesn’t let anything stand in her way… not even hate. 

Ng broke barriers by becoming the first female general manager among the four major U.S. sports leagues last Friday, NBC Asian America reports, but a racist incident Ng faced 17 years ago has come back into the light. 

According to ESPN, New York Mets special assistant Bill Singer made derogatory and racist comments to Ng at a 2003 meeting in Arizona. While Singer was eventually fired from the Mets, the incident revealed ‘systemic racism in [baseball].’ 

Singer ‘mocked her heritage with a fake accent,’ NBC Asian America reports, while also asking, “Where are you from?” Singer ultimately apologized and went on to work with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals. At the time, Ng was with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an assistant general manager.  

“His conduct was inexcusable and extremely disappointing,” former Dodgers’ general manager Dan Evans said. “Kim handled the entire situation in a professional manner.”

According to ESPN, Ng’s career in baseball spans decades, starting with her 1990 internship with the Chicago White Sox. She was also a star shortstop on the softball team of her alma mater, the University of Chicago. 

Ng had interviewed for general manager positions numerous times in the past, a previous AsAmNews article reports. She successfully joined the Miami Marlins recently, becoming the MLB’s first East Asian American general manager. 

According to MLB analyst Ron Darling, Ng’s years long struggle was rooted in discrimination. 

“If you look at her résumé, she should have been on the fast track,” Darling said, NBC Asian America reports. “She was on the slow track, quite frankly, because she was an Asian woman. So it changes all of that today with this hire.”

Ng said getting the position came from perseverance, AsAmNews reports. 

“It made me realize that there really was a glimmer of hope and inspiration for so many,” Ng continued. “If you work hard and you persevere and you’re driven and you just keep going, then eventually your dream will come true.”

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