Krukow and Kuiper on Sandoval Allegations; To Report or not Report?; Sunday Note

This is from Saturday's Lowell Cohn blog in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, talking about Giants star, Pablo Sandoval:

People rose and cheered Sandoval before his first at bat, a fly out to center field. Fans like Sandoval. He is a smiler and he has a cheerful disposition. I'd be unprofessional if I didn't mention he still is dealing with that unpleasantness in Santa Cruz.

Read that last sentence. It's important to me and caused a bit of a ruckus on Twitter Saturday. I watched the game on TV and was somewhat surprised that broadcasters Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper failed to mention the off-field allegations regarding Sandoval in Santa Cruz, the "unpleasantness", that Cohn referred to.

I know this is a sensitive subject. I also know that Sandoval hasn't been arrested nor even charged with a crime. That said, I was bothered that Kruk and Kuip failed to acknowledge it, even so much as saying that in addition to his weight problem, Sandoval has some "off-the-field" issues. Just a simple nod to viewers. That's the professional thing to do.

A few people on Twitter, including a few women, of all people, said that they were fine with Kruk and Kuip's omission. They appear to be Giant's fans. OK, I sort of get it, but I'm speaking from a different angle. Technically, Krukow and Kuiper are reporters in addition to being commentators. I know they work for the team, but everyone in the world knows about the Sandoval situation. As such, in my opinion, the failure to acknowledge the Santa Cruz allegations or "off-field situation" was not only unprofessional, but insulting to the viewers. Even Giant's fans too.

Keep in mind that this is not a knock on Krukow and Kuiper alone. Too many times, sports broadcasters for other teams have ignored their own club's players various issues. They too, in my opinion, were also unprofessional.

What do you think?



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