ESPN Firing Jessica Mendoza Over Astros Comments?
Is ESPN firing Jessica Mendoza over her Astros comments?
Earlier this week Mendoza sparked controversy during an appearance on the Golic and Wingo Show.
While discussing the cheating scandal that has engulfed the Houston Astros, Mendoza raised a lot of eyebrows when she suggested she had a problem with how pitcher Mike Fiers exposed it.
In her estimation, he should not have gone to the media with the revelation, but rather simply informed his teammates and the league.
“To go public with it and call them out and start all of this, it’s hard to swallow.”
–@jessmendoza on former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealing the Astros sign-stealing scheme. pic.twitter.com/LSQY6B0dSC
— Golic and Wingo (@GolicAndWingo) January 16, 2020
“Going public, yeah,” she said.
“I get it, if you’re with the Oakland A’s and you’re on another team, heck yeah you better be telling your teammates, ‘Heads up, if you hear some noises while you’re pitching, like, this is what’s going on.’
“For sure. But to go public, yeah, it didn’t sit well with me. Honestly, it made me sad for the sport that that’s how this all got found out,” she continued.
“This wasn’t something MLB naturally investigated or that even other teams complained about because they naturally heard about it and investigations happened.
“But it came from within. It was a player that was a part of it, that benefited from it during the regular season when he was a part of that team.
“That, when I first heard about it, it hits you like any teammate would. It’s something that you don’t do.”
Mendoza’s take was immediately lambasted by fans and media personnel alike. It drew so much ire that she was subsequently forced to go to Twitter and post a follow-up statement.
“The point I should have been much more clear on was this: I believe it’s very critical that this news was made public; I simply disagree with the manner in which that was done,” she wrote.
“I credit Mike Fiers for stepping forward, yet I feel that going directly through your team and/or MLB first could have been a better way to surface the information. Reasonable minds can disagree.”
Mendoza’s comments highlighted what many believe is a conflict of interest that exists for her.
Aside from being an ESPN broadcaster, Mendoza also serves as a paid advisor to the New York Mets.
The Mets were forced to part ways with newly-hired manager Carlos Beltran this past week because he was said to be involved in the Astros cheating scandal as a player.
Mendoza attempted to argue that her role with the Mets has not impacted her opinion on this subject in a different statement.
“I want to make it extra clear that my advisor role with the team does not shape my opinion in any way, shape or form on this matter,” she wrote.
“I feel this way regardless of what teams, players or managers are involved.”
As of Friday afternoon, ESPN has not yet commented on Mendoza’s future with the network. An official announcement on the matter should come at some in the next few weeks.
Related: Mets Considering Unexpected Manager Candidate
Michael Kyaw, initially a PR Manager, built up a valuable network of connections in the sports world that he then utilized to become an influential sports business reporter. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Fansided, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.
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