Torii Hunter In A Heated Exchange

By Ted Schwerzler | Dec 4, 2014

The Minnesota Twins welcomed Torii Hunter back into the fold on Wednesday afternoon during his introductory press conference. After passing his physical, Terry Ryan and Paul Molitor shook hands with the newest returnee to their organization. For Hunter it was a great day, except for a small exchange.

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After fielding a handful of typical questions surrounding his return to Minneapolis and his excitement to be back with the Twins, Torii Hunter was faced with a difficult question.

Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press asked Torii about his endorsement of an Arkansas governor, and his very public views on same-sex marriage. Torii felt like the question wasn’t fair and responded by berating Mike in a very public fashion.

"“Hey, Mike is kind of a p—k huh? No, seriously, you’re a p—k, man,” Hunter said. “I don’t even know you. You’re a p—k. Seriously. Ain’t nothing wrong with that man, that’s your job. He’s definitely a p—k, though.”"

It doesn’t get much more clear than that. Torii Hunter decided to take a stance against the question, and rather than giving it a legitimate answer or deflecting it, he chose an abrasive response that went straight for the throat.

Now, an introductory press conference is seemingly something that many view as some sort of sacred event. However, considering that the sole purpose is to get to know a new player and interact with the media, it could be argued that this setting should be of the most candid exchanges.

Unfortunately for Mike, the question was met with harsh responses. Whether you side with Torii’s stance or not in relation to the context of the question, his response was out of line. Having made his opinion very publicly heard, which he is more than within his rights to do, he also needs to be open and prepared to have a discussion with those who reply to it.

Yesterday a tough question was asked by a very good reporter, the response wasn’t handled as it should have been. Journalism is tough, and it was on full display yesterday.

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