Keith Olbermann normally gets written about for causing an uproar with his insane political takes. This time, however, he’s caused an uproar with a sports take.
Olbermann, a disgruntled weirdo who makes creepy videos in his Manhattan apartment because he’s been fired from every network foolish enough to hire him, drew the ire of baseball fans Thursday after lamenting Wednesday night’s injury to team Puerto Rico’s Edwin Diaz. The second major injury to a major league baseball player in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Well, he didn’t cause an uproar by lamenting the injuries. Instead, he really caused an uproar by calling the WBC “meaningless.”
Not only that, but Olbermann also made a vulgar joke about the player’s grandmothers.
“First Freddie Freeman, now Edwin Diaz,” he tweeted. “The WBC is a meaningless exhibition series designed to: get YOU to buy another uniform, to hell with the real season, and split up teammates based on where their grandmothers got laid.
“Call it off. Now.”
First Freddie Freeman, now Edwin Diaz.
The WBC is a meaningless exhibition series designed to: get YOU to buy another uniform, to hell with the real season, and split up teammates based on where their grandmothers got laid.
Call it off. Now. https://t.co/A5IT4rJWON
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 16, 2023
Olbermann’s take was greeted less than enthusiastically.
Just because you hate fun doesn’t mean the rest of us have to
— Shlomo Sprung (@SprungOnSports) March 16, 2023
You can say the same about the All Star Game. Should we stop them from playing golf in the off-season or spring training?
Diaz literally got hurt celebrating.
Let them play, but maybe it’s in January.
— Matt Herrmann (@MattyHerrmann) March 16, 2023
This is a really gross thing to say
— Jeremy Schneider (@J_Schneider) March 16, 2023
Clown post https://t.co/QxtlKwlzkL
— Khari Thompson (@kdthompson5) March 16, 2023
Eventually, Olbermann was called out for his vulgar quip by Wall Journal baseball reporter Lindey Adler.
Genuinely shocking to see this take end with a line about players representing the country “where their grandmothers got laid.” Edwin Diaz grew up in Puerto Rico and Freddie Freeman plays for Canada in remembrance of his late mother. Gross. https://t.co/j8mNi29s9h
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 16, 2023
Olbermann responded, “Ok, it reads sexist and for that I apologize. Make it ‘where their ancestors got laid.’ That blunt description of the artificiality of the team assignments is also trivial and for that I apologize. But WBC has always been a threat to what actually counts: The Season. Kill it.”
It’s unknown why Olbermann can’t simply criticize an international competition that puts professional stars at risk like a normal person. Why must he insert some crass comment about grandmothers?
Then again, why does he do any of the things that he does?