Cubs' Ricketts apologizes for racist emails

TD Ameritrade founder and Chicago Cubs ownership patriarch Joe Ricketts apologized after racist comments and conspiracy theories from his email address surfaced in an online news report from Splinter News. The article published Monday includes Joe Ricketts questioning the birthplace, religion and education of Chicagoan and former President Barack Obama, and other insensitive and derogatory comments.

Chairman Tom Ricketts of the Cubs issued a statement separating the team and its values from the comments. Joe Ricketts is not actively involved in the Cubs' organization. One email published Monday includes the passage "Islam is a cult and not a religion." In another, he reportedly wrote "Muslims are naturally my enemy."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel rebuked Ricketts in a statement released Tuesday morning. "Joe Ricketts once said that I do not share his values," Emanuel said. "Truer words were never spoken. The ignorance and intolerance he has espoused are not welcome in Chicago. Those are not the values I learned from my parents, and those are not the values Amy and I have instilled in our children.

"Joe Ricketts should consider himself lucky he has never met my mother. She would teach him a lesson. I am proud not to share his bigoted opinions. Hate has no home in Chicago." Joe Ricketts, 77, who sold more than 30 million shares of TD Ameritrade to buy a majority stake of the team from Tribune Company in 2009, also apologized in a separate statement.

"I deeply regret and apologize for some of the exchanges I had in my emails," Joe Ricketts said in a statement. "Sometimes I received emails that I should have condemned. Other times I've said things that don't reflect my value system. I strongly believe that bigoted ideas are wrong." --Field Level Media