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If Yasiel Puig wasn't a fan of the media before Monday, he certainly isn't going to be one now. A comment, which may have been lost in translation, incited a Twitter firestorm.
Puig and the Dodgers are in Miami for a four-game series against the Marlins. Puig will face off against fellow Cuban Jose Fernandez on Monday and the matchup has drawn significant interest. As a result, Puig met the media for a 20-minute press conference prior to Monday's game.
He conducted the interview in Spanish, with a translator and said, among other things, that he doesn't like media in the United States who dig for stories not related to activities on the field. Puig has received his fair share of criticism recently, including on Sunday when Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morisi said he'd be "nervous" that Puig would cost the Dodgers a playoff due to needless mistakes and fundamental lapses.
After the press conference, the real fireworks started in the clubhouse:
Yasiel Puig was in the visitors clubhouse here at #Marlins Park & looked at us gathered there and yelled, "F**K the media" and left the room
— Josh Friedman (@Friedo790) August 19, 2013
Correction on the sexual act comment toward the media by Puig..it was said in the clubhouse, not during the press confernce
— Josh Friedman (@Friedo790) August 19, 2013
It should be noted the comments were made in Spanish and Friedman only knew what was said after other reporters translated:
@mtycks He said it in Spanish. I didn't believe the first reporter who told me what he said but a second reporter confirmed it.
— Josh Friedman (@Friedo790) August 19, 2013
So was it as bad as it sounds? It sure doesn't seem like it when other context is added:
For the record, I was in the clubhouse when Puig said what he said. It was in jest and not addressed to anyone specifically.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 19, 2013
Honestly, I laughed when he said it and forgot about it until folks started asking about it on Twitter
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 19, 2013
Puig was basically venting to a couple teammates about some of the reports about him hanging with LeBron last night.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 19, 2013
So to sum things up, Puig respectfully answered questions during a press conference, apparently said some inappropriate things in Spanish, which may or may not have been a joke, and then people went crazy about it. Much ado about nothing.
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