Jeter Receives Racist Hate Mail
NEW YORK - Yankees star Derek Jeter is the latest athlete to receive a threatening letter warning him to stop dating white women.
The letter was mailed to Jeter at Yankee Stadium and called him a "traitor to his race," according to a story in Monday's editions of the Daily News. It warned him to "stop or he'll be shot or set on fire," said a law enforcement source who the newspaper did not identify. It was not clear whether the source was speaking on condition of anonymity.
Jeter, whose father is black and mother is white, has been linked with women of various racial and ethnic backgrounds in New York's gossip columns. The shortstop was profiled on "60 Minutes" on Sunday and discussed his experiences with racism while growing up.
In the last three years, 60 similar letters have been sent to professional black athletes and other well-known black men across the nation, including civic and business leaders.
Those receiving the letters include Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor and the parents of tennis player James Blake, according to the Daily News.
"The wording is very similar to letters that have been sent to other prominent people across the country," special agent Scott Wilson of the FBI in Cleveland told the newspaper.
Both the FBI, which has said it believes one writer sent those letters, and the New York Police Department's hate crimes unit are investigating the letter, the newspaper said.
The mail, postmarked from cities in northeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, criticized interracial relationships and directed the men to end such relationships "or they're going to be castrated, shot or set on fire."
St. Ignatius and St. Edward, two Roman Catholic high schools in Cleveland with well-known sports programs, received threatening letters addressed to student athletes last fall.
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