Reds outfielder Tommy Pham had his three-game suspension for slapping Giants outfielder Joc Pederson lifted on Tuesday night, but was unable to return to the Reds lineup with calf tightness. However, that didn’t prevent him from speaking to the media and giving his latest thoughts on the fantasy football dispute.
Speaking Tuesday in Boston, Pham contested Pederson’s assertion that the way the Giants outfielder had maneuvered the high-stakes fantasy league’s injured reserve spot was legal. Pederson had claimed that he had made a move similar to one that Pham had made in another league, but the Reds player disagreed with that characterization.
“We had rules to the IR,” Pham said, per C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic. “I know the ESPN app rules. We had our own individual rules.”
Pham added that one man could’ve prevented the situation from escalating by taking a firm stance on the issue. That individual was none other than the league’s high-profile commissioner, three-time American League MVP Mike Trout.
“Trout did a terrible job, man,” Pham said, laughing, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Trout is the worst commissioner in fantasy sports because he allowed a lot of [stuff] to go on, and he could’ve solved it all. I don’t want to be the f—ing commissioner; I’ve got other [stuff] to do. [Trout] didn’t want to do it. We put it on him, so it’s kind of our fault too because we made him commissioner.”
Trout’s actions as commissioner, or lack thereof, helped lead to the slap heard round baseball last Friday prior to a game between the Reds and the Giants. Pham also said that Pederson had sent a text to the league’s group chat in which he “disrespected” his Padres, the team Pham played for last season.
“I slapped Joc. He said some s--- I don’t condone. I had to address it,” the Reds outfielder said Saturday, per The Mercury News.
MLB deemed Pham’s slap as “inappropriate conduct” and suspended him for the remainder of the series between the two teams. Now, that he’s on the other side of the league punishment, the Reds outfielder is ready to put the incident in the past.
“That’s something you really just put behind you,” Pham said according to The Enquirer. “Everyone in that group chat, everybody knows. I’ve had some of those guys reach out to me. They already know what’s up.”
