Verlander and the Free Press

[Guest 41Forever]

Justin Verlander is a great pitcher, but both he and the Astros mishandled this situation with Free Press.



https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2019/08/22/houston-astros-detroit-free-press-justin-verlander/2081318001/https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2019/08/22/houston-astros-detroit-free-press-justin-verlander/2081318001/



I have no problem -- none -- with Verlander not wanting to speak with a particular reporter if he has a sincere belief there is unethical behavior. But there's no way the team can or should block a particular reporter from the clubhouse, or prevent a reporter from participating in a scrum or press conference. He has to let the Freep reporter in there. He can turn down a request for a one-on-one interview, but he can't block the reporter from being where other reporters are.



Now, if there is a sincere concern about unethical behavior, the Astros -- not Verlander -- should have reached out to the sports editor and raised a concern. And it can't just be "I didn't like the story." There's a balancing act, because you can't have a situation where people are selecting who can and cannot cover them. But if there are concerns about unethical behavior, the person being covered needs to have a chance to air his concerns.



The mishandling has made the mishandling a bigger story than the game.

[Ceetar]

they did reach out and told them NOT to send that asshole, to send someone else.

[Ceetar]

Verlander wrote: I declined to speak with the @freep rep last night because of his unethical behavior in the past. I reached out to the @freep multiple times before the game to notify them why and to give them an opportunity to have someone else there. Ironically they didn't answer.

[Lefty Specialist]

I guess I can't judge without knowing their history, but it seems like kind of a dick move banning a beat reporter.

[Guest 41Forever]

Verlander wrote: I declined to speak with the @freep rep last night because of his unethical behavior in the past. I reached out to the @freep multiple times before the game to notify them why and to give them an opportunity to have someone else there. Ironically they didn't answer.

Right. Verlander reached out to the paper. I noted that such a complaint has to come from the team, not the involved player. The team has to protect Verlander from himself in a situation like this, or it blows up -- like it did. Bad communications work, all around.

[G-Fafif]

Five years ago, though nobody cared because it was the 2014 Mets, a slightly similar contretemps played out. Mike Puma had written after an early-season win that the only substance Bartolo Colon tested positive for was peanut butter, guffaw. If I recall correctly, the players wouldn't talk to any reporters postgame unless Puma excused himself, which he did so as not to be an obstacle to everybody else. He apologized for the wisecrack and everybody went on with their lives.



I was torn between admiring the Mets' solidarity in defense of a teammate who must have been bothered by it more than you'd think (it wasn't so long after Colon's PED-ish suspension) and irritated that they didn't just roll with it. It was a modestly clever jibe from a reporter who passes for hilarious in a press box context, the kind who'd tweet, "It's Bark in the Park Day, but there's a tarp on the field because it's raining cats and dogs," and get 200 likes because he writes for the Post.

[Ceetar]

yeah, I think about the Puma thing. I'm firmly on the solidarity side. Especially because it's not some exclusive access thing. Fans aren't losing out on a single thing. If one of the gaggle of reporters is making things difficult, absolutely say something. You're not a doormat. I feel similarly about the Vargas/Callaway thing. (though actual violence is too far, clearly)



This reporter is clearly an asshole, unrepentant, and antagonistic. Why should Verlander put up with it? It's an ancillary part of his job to be communicative with the press, but not with any specific person.