Ken Griffey Jr.was always known for his dominance at the plate and his incredible ability in the outfield. When it comes to giving interviews…not so much.
As a part of Upper Deck’s 25th anniversary, Jr. had a busy schedule of interviews. So when his turn came up with ESPN’s Linda Cohn, Griffey appeared about as enthused as I am when my wife drags me to IKEA.
Griffey will never be mistaken for a big bag of sunshine now because of this interview heard ’round the world. Cohn did her best to salvage an interview where Griffey was closed off and only gave one-word answers. The former Seattle Mariner legend has long held a reputation amongst the Seattle media as being kind of a jerk. The public rarely ever saw that side. Until now.
One of the rather humorous moments of the interview is when Cohn repeated a question from twitter, asking “What do you think you will be remembered for far above all else?” Griffey just replied, “Smile.” Classic.
Linda Cohn, although professional on-air, couldn’t pass up her chance to comment on the interview via twitter.
Griffey would later apologize, saying, “I want to apologize to Linda for the way things went today. I was in the middle of a cough attack and felt a little ill and didn’t want to walk off the set. Linda has always been professional to me and my family. I’m sorry, Junior.”
I doubt Griffey Jr. will be invited to give any motivational speeches any time soon.
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, an unhealthy sports fanatic, and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like”CraveOnline Sports on Facebook
