A lot of questions came bubbling to the surface when Torii Hunter filed for free agency following his two seasons in Detroit.
Does the 39-year-old still have anything left in the tank? Who would sign the nine-time Gold Glove award winner? And, most importantly, would his virulent views toward homosexuals sway a team from offering him a deal.
Welp, when the Minnesota Twins inked the outfielder to a one-year $10.5 million deal Tuesday…all of those questions seemed to be pushed aside.
Pushed aside, at least, until the Twins introduced their latest acquisition to the media on Wednesday.
“The purpose of my final two questions posed to Twins outfielder Torii Hunter at today’s news conference was not to make him feel uncomfortable or to force him to expound on his previously stated views on gay marriage,” St. Paul Pioneer Press writer Mike Berardino said. “I also asked him if he thought the political backlash might have impacted his recent job search as he eventually settled for a one-year contract at a 19-percent decrease in his average annual salary. Finally, I asked Mr. Hunter if he intended to be as open with his political and religious views moving forward after having gone through this recent experience.”
Hunter was none too pleased with Berandino’s queries.
“Hey, Mike is kind of a prick, huh? No seriously you’re a prick, man. I don’t even know you,” Hunter said. “You’re a prick…seriously. Ain’t nothing wrong with that man, that’s your job. He’s definitely a prick though.”
Suffice it to say, the news conference ended shortly after Hunter’s outburst.
Not long being called a prick four times by the five-time All-Star, Berardino caught up Katrina Hunter to see what she thought of her husband.
“He’s pretty honest. You’ve seen that today. What you see is what you get. That’s it,” Katrina said of her former high school sweetheart. “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, even the people on Twitter and Instagram, whatever — all those social medias. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. First Amendment right. Freedom of speech. You can’t control what people say. They’re going to say it whether you do go along with them or whether you go against them. Somebody’s not going to like it. So you just stand for what you believe in and leave it there.”
I get it and I agree with her to a point…but to be so steadfast with your anti-gay beliefs while collecting a huge paycheck playing a game that is trying its best to break down barriers?
Really?!?
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