The Miami Marlins are not responding well to embarrassing revelations about their business practices.
It was revealed in April that the Marlins claim foreign ownership for tax purposes by listing their corporate address in the British Virgin Islands. When Miami radio host Andy Slater traveled there to find the address, he discovered a post office box, resulting in a lot of public embarrassment for the organization.
The franchise’s response was to revoke his press credentials.
Sports radio host Andy Slater flew to the BVIs last month to track down the corporate office that let the Marlins claim foreign ownership in a court fight with Miami-Dade. Team got ticked and Slater had his press credentials yanked after that report. https://t.co/7Hj7xl4LJG
— Doug Hanks (@doug_hanks) May 17, 2018
Slater confirmed that, immediately after his trip, the Marlins cut off his access to the team.
“I was basically told that I could not come cover the Marlins,” Slater told the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Friday, via Chris Thompson of Deadspin. “I was denied credentials right after I went to the British Virgin Islands, that trip. I was actually approved for the next day, for that Sunday, and then I got a denial email, and then was denied about a week later when I applied yet again. I spoke to Marlins PR and they basically don’t like the way that I cover the team. So I’ve been denied credentials since then.”
The Marlins have been buried in an avalanche of bad PR since a group including Derek Jeter purchased the team. Sidelining the reporter who looks into the team’s shady business practices won’t win them any new supporters.
