Reds fans react to Phil Castellini’s eventual apology

It took a long time, but Cincinnati Reds president and chief operating officer Phil Castellini has finally issued an apology for his comments that were dismissive of the fans and their frustrations.

Castellini’s initial comments were bad and his follow-up might have been worse. His second comments weren’t quite as appalling as the first, but they came hours later. Given that — and that rather than apologize —  Castellini essentially doubled down, his follow-up comments were taken just as bad by Reds fans — and justifiably so.

On Tuesday night, Castellini finally issued a true apology (per C. Trent Rosencrans — The Athletic).

For many Reds fans, the apology rang hollow.

https://twitter.com/nicky_numbers/status/1514055075706122244

The problem is he doubled down on it. He had the chance to clear the air in the second interview, and he didn’t. The fans deserve better than this. https://t.co/3ixdAw3y3v

— Votto’s Jockstrap (@HopefulRedsFan) April 13, 2022

https://twitter.com/nickmoscato/status/1514050064884371456

The apology itself isn’t really the issue here. It maybe isn’t the greatest apology ever written. But in a vacuum, it would suffice. We all make mistakes, after all.

The problem is, this isn’t a vacuum. Castellini could have made this apology in his follow-up interview. He was given that opportunity on a silver platter and went the other way. He made the fan’s complaints a matter of supporting the players — which is off base. Fans don’t hate the individual players for not being good. They hate the front office for not investing in better players or even just keeping the good ones already on the roster.

When one of the highest-paid players on the team is a guy who’s been retired since 2010 and hasn’t played with the Reds since 2008, it’s hard to dispute that criticism. When former players say that the front office is cheap, again, it’s hard to dispute the criticism.

Castellini’s initial comments were bad. He then spit on the first (and obvious) chance to apologize to them. It wasn’t until hours later that anything resembling a real apology came.

So, what would have been good enough? To be fair, after Castellini put his foot in his mouth twice, there may not have been any apology that would have been good enough. We can’t blame Cincinnati’s fans for being cynical and hesitant to accept what was offered.

[C. Trent Rosencrans]