Giants disavow Holland's Asian caricature in MLB Network appearance

San Francisco Giants lefty Derek Holland appeared on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk" with Chris Rose and Kevin Millar on Wednesday. He brought with him the team's massage therapist, Haro Ogawa, and referred to him as his "hype man."

During the segment, Holland performed an Asian caricature that prompted swift online criticism from Bleacher Report's Joon Lee and others. The Giants later said that they do not support Holland's impersonation.

"The Giants organization does not condone that type of behavior in any way,” team spokesperson Matt Chisholm said, according to Deadspin's Avery Yang. "We spoke to Derek regarding his interview yesterday and he completely understands the severity of the situation and he apologizes if it offended anyone. That was not his intention at all, but he's taking full responsibility for it. It was not his intention at all to embarrass Haro."

Chisholm added that the two are friends and Holland didn't intend to be racist or offensive during the segment.

"If you know Haro, these guys are friends in the clubhouse," Chisholm said. "They both, you know, poke fun at one another. But, by no means at all is he trying to get across that he’s racist."

The official MLB Network version of the interview has removed Holland's caricature.

Holland has since apologized for his impersonation and the distraction it has caused.

"I apologize for what I've done and what I've caused, and now it's become a distraction to the team, and I don't want that," Holland said, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I don't want to offend anybody. I apologize for doing that. ... I want to be held accountable."