Phineas T. Bluster Olney gets imprimatur of Public Broadcasting

Phineas T. Bluster Olney is almost King of All Media (next to Howard Stern). Olney has appeared on NPR radio and I found a transcript of an appearance on the Jim Lehrer News Hour on PBS on April 5, 2004. He was invited on to discuss steroids, and he said this:

• "A lot of pitchers are using this stuff. I presumably looking at the bodies and from talking with the players. It's because they can in taking steroids they can bounce back from pitching in a game much more quickly if they use the steroids."

and

• "just yesterday Cecil Fielder, who became the first player in about 50 years did 50 homeruns, he basically suggested, he mentioned by name players who he thought were taking steroids."

I've read Olney has chastised Allan H. "Bud" Selig a lot for the steroid problem. Olney has been given the huge gift of being a NY Times reporter, during which time he received special access to baseball clubhouses. As a result of this privilege, he wrote a book revealing secrets he learned in clubhouses. The access he received was because of the name of the media outlet he worked for, but fine, he turned it into publicity for himself. How can Olney criticize anyone for not dealing or reporting the seriousness of the steroid problem when he used it to get publicity and media attention for himself at serious places like PBS at least as far back as 2004?

• From PBS Online NewsHour transcript, 4/5/04, "Out at the Old Ballgame." Buster Olney interviewed by Terence Smith.

P.S. He knew pitchers? Cecil Fielder named names? This behavior by Olney shows a lack of character, yet he continues to be treated like royalty by baseball media.

Tweet Stumbleupon StumbleUpon