Steinbrenner Says He Intended No Racial Slur

George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, said Sunday he intended no racial connotation by his use of the phrase “black boy� on a nationally televised news program.

Steinbrenner--responding to a question asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation� whether he would hire minorities in the Yankees front office as soon as possible--said, “My chief accountant, the head accountant that I have in my finance department, happens to be a young black boy.�

In a statement released Sunday night, Steinbrenner said: “I have been using the term ‘boys and girls’ since my parents taught me what it meant on the restroom doors in my grammar school . . . and I ain’t about to change for nobody.

“Those who would misconstrue it just aren’t worth bothering about. The people who know me know that there was no inference intended.

“I’m going to continue to call my players and my front office my ‘boys and girls,’ and, if that offends someone, that’s tough. I’m getting tired of all this b.s. and I think it’s ridiculous for someone to misconstrue what I meant.�