Tejada says ESPN misled family; Segment airs tonight
Former Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada said that he and his family were bushwhacked by ESPN during the reporting that led to the revelation that Tejada is two years older than previously believed.
ESPN's anthology series called E:60, which features sports stories that are often investigative pieces, will air the Tejada segment tonight at 7 on ESPN. Tejada contends that his family in the Dominican Republic were misled about the nature of the piece and implied that ESPN ingratiated itself to the Tejada household.
Tejada is quoted on MLB.com as saying: "They went to my father's house. They got the camera everywhere in my father's house. I don't know what they tried to find. They interviewed my father, and they interviewed people from my neighborhood and everything. They [ate] in my father's house. They make my sister cook for them. That's why I feel mad."
Tejada went on the say that an ESPN reported then surprised him with his birth certificate during an interview that was supposed to be about baseball. For it's part, ESPN said it did nothing wrong and did not misrepresent its intentions. Tejada now admits that when he was 19, he lied about his age saying that he was 17. He is now 33, not 31 as previously represented in all baseball references. All his legal documents reflect his his true age.
Comments
Tell the truth Miggy and you won't have to worry about reporters acting like that. Take some responsibility for it and shut up! By whining like this, you just keep the story going.
Posted by: Boo Hoo | April 22, 2008 1:28 PM
Typically, if you look hard enough and long enough you find fault with just about anybody. I am surprised that that ESPN went to this kind of lengths to get their story. I also don't believe it caused a much of a stir among the baseball fans.
Posted by: Captain Jack | April 22, 2008 1:49 PM
Miggy, try this:
"I told the scouts I was 17 when i was really 19. My family was poor and i wanted to to be sure i got an opportunity to make a living playing baseball. All my legal documents are correct. I never lied to any government or immigration officials.
Period - End of Story.
If his agent was doing his job, this statement would have come out by now.
Posted by: mark | April 22, 2008 4:39 PM
Why is everyone piling up on Miggy, man? ESPN and their toady "sports journalists" look like the tawdry, drama queen hacks they really are. Just cover the sports, dudes. Tons of players from Latin and South America fudge their ages, not to say that it's right, but in the grand scheme does it really matter? One could argue that there is a big difference between 31 and 33 but not when you're talking about a guy who had the longest consecutive game streak since Cal up until last summer. Either way, it looks like Miggy is taking his frustrations out during the game because he beating the leather off the balls right now. I'm still happy we made that trade though.
Posted by: J. Gavin | April 23, 2008 8:43 PM
ESPN is out of line. . . again. If they are so concerned with getting to the truth why dont they have Roger Clemens explain how he lied under oath to congress. This is nothing more than ESPN making disparaging remarks to a player they have no more use for. What a Joke
Posted by: G Mod | April 24, 2008 3:14 PM