Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell has apologized for his response to heckling fans in San Francisco on Easter. The apology was spurred by accusations by Justin Quinn of Fresno, Calif., that McDowell threatened Quinn with a baseball bat and made homophobic remarks.
It's a strange situation, and it's hard to believe everything Quinn is saying. He clearly wants media attention, as he immediately sought it in three tweets to ESPN Sunday night via Twitter…
Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell has apologized for his response to heckling fans in San Francisco on Easter. The apology was spurred by accusations by Justin Quinn of Fresno, Calif., that McDowell threatened Quinn with a baseball bat and made homophobic remarks.
It’s a strange situation, and it’s hard to believe everything Quinn is saying. He clearly wants media attention, as he immediately sought it in three tweets to ESPN Sunday night via Twitter…
And via that Twitter feed he promotes his own sports coaching and equipment company. So is he using this incident to promote his own company? Maybe.
He also selected an attorney who happens to be the biggest media chaser in the law: Gloria Allred. In addition, the accusations are so over-the-top it's difficult to imagine anyone
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
According to Allred's account, McDowell first said to three other men in the bleachers, "Are you guys a homo couple or a threesome?" McDowell, she said, then simulated a sex act using a baseball bat and, while thrusting his hips, asked, "Are you three giving it to each other up the ass?."
Allred and Quinn were kind enough to simulate anal sex with a bat in their press conference (video below).
And according to TMZ:
The father claims he confronted McDowell from the stands — and McDowell responded by saying, "Kids don't f**king belong at the baseball park" … and then approached him with a baseball bat, saying, "How much are your teeth worth?"
The other piece to all of this is the heckling fans. Guess what – fans are completely inappropriate! They say horrible things to opposing players and coaches. Some of them probably deserved a heated response from McDowell; Of course, those cowards won't come forward and admit their role in this incident. While players and coaches are supposed to turn the other cheek to heckling, sometimes it becomes too much to take. I'm curious what that point was for McDowell.
I'm not saying this all didn't happen, I'm just saying it's hard to believe. Did something happen? I'm sure it did. But all that? I mean, the guy clearly has some other motive – I don't think gay equality is at the forefront of his motives.
And if all of it did happen the way Quinn said it did, Kobe Bryant is the happiest kid in America because McDowell just outdid him tenfold.