Reds President Dares Fans to ‘Abandon’ Team After Off-Season Reset: ‘Where Are You Gonna Go?’

Amiliano FragosoApr 12th, 2022, 6:07 pm
 

The Cincinnati Reds certainly didn’t gain any fans Tuesday when Red’s President and COO Phil Castellini went on a local radio show and dared fans to abandon their support of the team.

The challenge was issued Tuesday before the team’s home opener as Castellini was interviewed on the Eddie & Rocky show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati. The front office member essentially told fans that they had no options but to cheer for the team as the Reds head for a long rebuild.

“Where are you gonna go?” he asked.

Castellini’s remarks sounded like those of an executive aware he might get canned in the not-so-distant future and the surprise he elicited from the show’s hosts was clear as he caught everybody off guard.

The Reds President was even given a chance to retract or rephrase his earlier suggestion when local news outlet WLWT caught up with him on the field. But instead, he doubled down on the ill-advised comments.

“Are you going to abandon being a Reds fan? Are you going to abandon following this team?” Castellini charged during a live TV interview. “We haven’t abandoned investing in the team, in the community. The point is how about everybody just settle down and celebrate and cheer for the team? You can hate on us all you want, we’re not going anywhere.”

He later stated that the point behind his blunt comments was to stay loyal to the players and a team that gives 100% every time it’s out there.

Castellini confidence may be misplaced after an offseason in which he sold most all of the good players except for Joey Votto and Hunter Greene. As a result, upsetting the fans further probably isn’t the best idea.

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