The Cincinnati Reds had their first home game of the 2022 MLB season on Tuesday and fans flocked to the ballpark to support their favorite baseball team in spite of the franchise’s recent struggles. Phil Castellini, president and chief operating officer of the team, not to mention the son of principal owner Bob Castellini, made it clear beforehand that if Reds fans don’t like the direction of the team, they can kick rocks.
Aside from a wild card appearance in the truncated 2020 season, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs every year since 2014. And while last season’s 83-79 record gave fans some hope, there are still plenty of concerns about the long-term ability of the team to compete with their divisional rivals, let alone get back to the World Series for the first time since 1990.
Plenty of players have even been critical of the franchise and former players have voiced their displeasure for ownership and their inability to spend money. Many fans have taken to asking for the Castellini family to sell the franchise to other owners who might be able to accomplish more.
Castellini appeared on the Reds’ flagship station WLW before the game on Tuesday and let loose one of the most tone-deaf responses possible to those concerns.
Phil Castellini doesn’t care what the fans think because you have no choice but to root for them. Or the team will be sold and moved. pic.twitter.com/FKGBV88TSg
— Wooooo™ (@WoooooTheReds) April 12, 2022
“Well, where you gonna go?” said Castellini. “Let’s start there. I mean, sell the team to who? I mean, that’s the other thing, I mean, you wanna have this debate? If you wanna look at what would you have this team do to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists, it would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. And, so, be careful what you ask for. I think we’re doing the best we can do with the resources that we have.
We’re no more pleased with the results than the fans. I’m not sitting here saying anybody should be happy, I’m not sitting here polishing any trophies in the office right now. And, that’s what we’re here to do. But, the bottom line is I do think we’ve had to shift the discipline, we’ve tried a lot of things that didn’t work. They came this close to working and didn’t, nobody’s gotta tell me they didn’t work. So, I think we’ve learned from those things. Trust me, [general manager] Nick [Krall] is a guy on a mission.”
Can you imagine the CEO of a company chastising customers for not being happy with the product that is being offered? Sports offers one of the rare instances when an executive feels comfortable shaming their own consumers for not being happy with what they’re doing. It’s wild.
And for the record, since the Castellini family bought the Reds in 2006, they’ve had a losing record 10 times, gone 0-4 in playoff series, and 2-9 in playoff games. So if the question is whether or not other owners can do better, it’s hard to see how they could do much worse.
Castellini’s comments went viral fast and, perhaps in an attempt to smooth things over, he spoke with WLWT reporter Brandon Soho from the ballpark. And the second attempt did not go much better.
Before Opening Day, I asked Reds President and COO Phil Castellini about his message to the fans after his radio comments went viral. Here’s his response. @WLWT #Reds pic.twitter.com/cukIIopmSv
— Brandon Saho (@BrandonSaho) April 12, 2022
Castellini’s smug demeanor at the beginning of the clip sets the wrong tone right away. And then he essentially doubled down on his original statements.
“Are you gonna abandon being a Reds fan?” Castellini said. “Are you gonna abandon following this team? We haven’t abandoned it, we haven’t abandoned investing in the team and 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.”
“You can hate on us all you want, we’re not going anywhere” might be the perfect summation of how many fans feel about the billioinare owners of their favorite sports teams. And if he and his family thought they were disliked in Cincinnati and around the MLB world before today, these comments have clearly sent that sentiment into a new stratosphere.
Cincinnati has good fans and they deserve better than the garbage running their team https://t.co/rL4Q621uN1
— Scott Polacek (@ScottPolacek) April 12, 2022
Imagine being told fans are upset with your comments and not knowing which statement did the damage. https://t.co/zoGyyDi9Yh
— Blake Schuster (@Schustee) April 12, 2022
"Stay loyal to whomever we dress up in a Reds jersey and call a big-leaguer." https://t.co/iNizqPwVHZ
— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) April 12, 2022
Bruh. https://t.co/0X9U9VGYnq
— Vincent Samperio (@vincesince91) April 12, 2022
I hope every single Reds fan spends their money elsewhere until this dork is no longer in charge. You can still be a fan and not spend a single dime on the team.
Also, all fans should take note. This is what ownership thinks of you.
They. Do. Not. Care. https://t.co/mKQXJDCIMQ
— David (@TwittinSports) April 12, 2022
Also, yes Phil Castellini, I absolutely do want to have the debate. Have your people contact me and let's debate this whole "where are you going to go, who will buy the team, where will they move it, how do we compete in this market" thing. I've got a whole lot of questions.
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) April 12, 2022
Phil Castellini on upset #Reds fans: "Where you gonna go? Let's start there. Sell the team to who? … What would you do with this team to have it be more profitable? … It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. So, be careful what you ask for."
Are you kidding me?? https://t.co/bszK8LMa0w
— David Wysong (@DavidWysong_) April 12, 2022
If nothing else, Phil took what was supposed to be a festive celebration day and turned it into a day that encapsulated every reason Reds fans want him gone and his family to sell the franchise.