Josh Hart wants Will Flemming out of the Red Sox radio booth. The Knicks guard fired off a social media post over the weekend calling for Boston’s broadcaster to be fired, joining a growing list of players and fans who are done with Flemming after his comments about Jazz Chisholm Jr.
“Yo @RedSox your idiotic announcer got to go.”
Hart did not name Flemming directly. He did not need to. Everyone paying attention knew exactly who he was talking about.
Here is the context. During last Sunday’s Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium, Flemming called Chisholm “a bush league player” on the broadcast, then urged Boston pitchers to throw at Yankees catcher Austin Wells because Chisholm stole third base with New York holding a big seventh-inning lead.
Throw at the catcher because the shortstop stole a base. That is not analysis. That is the kind of take that gets pitchers suspended and hurts the game.
Flemming has already issued an apology. He acknowledged the comments were out of line and said he regretted them. The apology did not slow down the criticism. Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler dropped a clown emoji on a post about Flemming’s remarks. Now Hart is joining the pile-on.
The unwritten rules of baseball are a running joke in 2026. There is an old-school baseball crowd that still cares about run differentials, stealing bases with big leads, and swinging on 3-0 counts. There is a modern baseball crowd that thinks the game is 27 outs and every one of them counts. The old-school crowd is losing this argument.
Chisholm ran because that is what he does. He is one of the most exciting players in baseball. He plays with juice. He signs autographs. He is a marketing dream for a sport that desperately needs young stars. Punishing him for playing hard is exactly the wrong instinct.
Flemming’s Red Sox employers have a decision to make. The apology was the minimum step. The next step is either a suspension or a stronger internal discussion about what a broadcaster can and cannot say on the air. Fans are going to remember this the next time he says something questionable.
Josh Hart getting involved is also worth noting. Hart is a die-hard sports fan who follows everything. He played college ball at Villanova, was a champion in 2016 and 2018. He grew up rooting for New York teams. His voice carries in social media conversations.
Hart is also a New York guy defending New York players. That kind of solidarity between the local NBA and MLB stars is good for the city. It reminds people that professional athletes are fans too, and they see the same stuff we see.
The broader lesson here is that broadcasters are held to a different standard in 2026 than they were even five years ago. Every comment becomes a clip. Every clip goes viral. Networks and teams have to decide what they are willing to defend and what crosses a line.
Flemming’s comments crossed a line. Josh Hart is right about that. The Red Sox need to figure out what they are going to do about it before it turns into a bigger problem.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
