▲ This undated image, provided by the Korea Baseball Softball Association, shows a baseball game between Pai Chai High School and Gwangju Jeil High School. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

high school-baseball team

High school baseball team visits Gwangju to apologize for insensitive trash talk

SEOUL/GWANGJU, July 6 (Yonhap) -- A high school baseball team recently suspended for making insensitive trash talk during a baseball tournament visited the southwestern city of Gwangju on Monday to apologize for the chants.

Last Monday, some players from Pai Chai High School in Seoul derided opponents of Gwangju Jeil High School during the Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship, yelling "Let's go to Starbucks!" and "Tank Day!"

The chants were seen as a reference to a controversial "tank" tumbler promotion by Starbucks Korea on May 18 -- the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising when soldiers carried out a bloody crackdown on protesters.

The 36-member team of Pai Chai High School, along with some of the players' parents and teachers, visited Gwangju Jeil High School and apologized for the chants, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

"(We) truly apologize to the Gwangju Jeil High School players, their parents and the people of Gwangju for deeply hurting them with the inappropriate remarks and actions," the team's captain said.

The chants had sparked public outcry, prompting the Korea Baseball Softball Association to ban the high school baseball team on Wednesday from competing at national tournaments for six months.

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