Cubs Decline To Apologize After Controversial Spanish Broadcast Bump

Chicago Cubs Release Statement After Controversial Decision On San Francisco Giants’ Broadcast Team

“The Giants are one of just four teams with Spanish broadcasters who cover the full 162-game schedule, including traveling to all 81 on the road — and sometimes they get a rude reminder of where they rank in MLB’s broadcast pecking order,” John Shea reported for The San Francisco Standard.

The Giants’ Spanish-language broadcasters made the trip to Wrigley Field and called the series opener from a primary press booth at the stadium.

“But ESPN radio dropped into town to broadcast Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, so the Cubs bumped the Giants’ Spanish broadcasters to an area way up in the press box rafters where much of the field including first base and second base isn’t visible,” Shea added.

That decision drew criticism on social media, but the Cubs recently declined a chance to apologize for the decision.

“The San Francisco Giants’ Spanish-language radio broadcast team was provided a designated space in the Wrigley Field press box for all three games of the Giants vs. Cubs series,” Cubs senior director of communications Jennifer Martinez said, after initially refusing to comment, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jeff Agrest. “This space is regularly used whenever additional seating is needed.”

ForbesBraves’ ‘Family’ Backstop Reunites With AL Club Shortly After Roster CutBy Peter Chawaga

Chicago Cubs’ Response To Viral Controversy ‘Casts The Club In A Bad Light’

Though the team attempted to dismiss the controversy with that response, Agrest noted that the statement did not include an apology for relegating the Spanish-language broadcasters in favor of their English-speaking counterparts.

“There likely was little they could do to rectify the situation in the cramped space,” Agrest added. “But declining to acknowledge that, or apologize for the inconvenience, casts the club in a bad light.”

The incident drew attention because of the Giants’ longstanding commitment to Spanish-language coverage and the importance of those broadcasts for fans throughout Northern California and beyond, as Shea noted.

And while the Cubs indicated that the seating location is routinely used when additional press box accommodations are required, critics like Agrest have argued that the delay of any public acknowledgment and lack of an apology has become a larger story than the seating issue itself.

Absent further comment from the organization, the discussion surrounding the treatment of traveling Spanish-language broadcasters is likely to continue even after the Giants and Cubs have moved on from the series itself.