The Don Orsillo Situation Could Be Worse Than We Thought
Don Orsillo (Cropped) by Sarah on Flickr/Creative Commons
NESN’s decision not to extend beloved Red Sox play-by-play man Don Orsillo’s contract has been met with backlash from fans and fellow media alike—and it isn’t letting up.
Earlier this week, John Henry’s Boston Globe was forced to issue a clarification after an earlier version of a Dan Shaughnessy column had reported that Sox employees had been instructed to confiscate signs at Fenway Park expressing support for Orsillo, citing two unnamed sources and later deleted. Red Sox Director of Media Relations Kevin Gregg vehemently denied the claim, and the Globe blamed it on a “reporting error.”
Kirk Minihane of WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan morning drive program, which broke the news of Orsillo’s dismissal after 15 seasons, weighed in on the controversy again, citing a few sources of his own.
Per sources, NESN – facing huge backlash – asked Don Orsillo to tweet that he wasn't being fired and it was a mutual parting. He declined.
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) September 4, 2015
Also this: Multiple sources told me the Red Sox did confiscate signs in support of Orsillo at Fenway last Monday, despite denial from Sox.
— Kirk Minihane (@kirkmin) September 4, 2015
Orsillo has taken to Twitter since the initial news broke, tweeting a live version of Dave Matthews Band’s dark ditty “Out of My Hands”–a far cry from the olive branch that NESN was hoping for. In its clarification on Shaughnessy’s column, the Globe claimed it “could not independently verify that any signs were confiscated at the ballpark.”
Minihane. however, seems to have had no trouble doing so. So what gives?
