Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista has not conducted an interview with Sportsnet, his team’s official television broadcasting station, in over three months. Bautista has been committed to boycotting the network, and now we know why.
According to Brendan Kennedy of The Toronto Star, Bautista has refused to speak with anyone from Sportsnet since a TV segment featuring rookie infielder Devon Travis aired on May 19. The network had Travis take part in a lighthearted fashion feature during which he wore a designer suit. The 24-year-old bought the suit strictly for the segment, and Bautista is appalled that Travis hasn’t be reimbursed by Sportsnet.
Bautista, a six-time all-star who has played in Toronto since 2008, has told Sportsnet executives he will not do any interviews until Travis is reimbursed for the cost of the suit or he is given a gift certificate from Gotstyle, the men’s clothier featured in the segment.
Bautista believes Sportsnet took advantage of Travis — since it was the network’s idea to do the suit-buying special — and that he needs to stand up for his rookie teammate, who is unable to stand up for himself given his lower-echelon status in the league and with his new team.
Travis modeled several suits during the segment, which lasted just over six minutes. He eventually decided that his favorite was a blue Ted Baker suit with a microprint shirt, tie and fancy shoes. He called the outfit “pretty tight,” but he is apparently unhappy that the cost of it came out of his own pocket. So is Bautista.
Janice Tibbets, a journalism instructor at Carelton University in Ottawa, believes Bautista is being unreasonable. She thinks Sportsnet paying for the suit would have been inappropriate.
“If Sportsnet had’ve paid for the suit, it could have given the appearance of having too cozy a relationship with Travis and the Blue Jays,” Tibbets said. “It’s a lot fuzzier than out-and-out paying for news, but Sportsnet and the Jays already have the same owner, so there’s the perception already that they’re too close, that there’s an ethical conflict or there could be some threat to journalistic independence. So it just looks better if he pays for his own suit.”
Is anyone really thinking about an “ethical conflict” during a segment in which a rookie is modeling designer suits?
On one hand, you might be surprised that any professional baseball player is complaining about the cost of a suit. Heck, Bautista makes $14 million per season, so he could pay for it easily if he felt that badly for Travis.
However, this is clearly a matter of principle. We have seen entire MLB teams boycott specific media outlets for worse reasons. Bautista obviously feels that Travis was sandbagged.
H/T Hardball Talk
Photo: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
