Baltimore Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos was called “disrespectful” for his angry response to a question about the future of the Major League Baseball team.
The Angelos family is involved in a number of internal disputes, with different members of the family suing each other as the control of their assets becomes a legal issue.
Peter Angelos, John’s father, is the majority owner of the Orioles but is in failing health, and John’s younger brother, Louis, is suing John and their mother, Georgia Angelos, over ownership of the team.
Louis has claimed that John could look to move the franchise to Tennessee and has alleged that John said he could do this “without having to answer to anyone.”
In the lawsuit, Louis claimed that the ownership of the team would be shared equally by himself and John but that his older brother has moved to grab more power.
Louis also alleged that his mother has prioritized selling the team and would have done so in 2020 but for John Angelos nixing the deal.
At a Q&A on Monday, John Angelos reiterated that this would not be the case and has insisted that the Orioles will remain in Baltimore.
His response got increasingly more heated and eventually looked to shut down the reporter who asked about the team’s future, resulting in people calling out Angelos as being “disrespectful.”
“I’ve said many times publicly, unsolicited, unprompted we’re never going anywhere,” he said.
Here’s the exchange between The Athletic’s @danconnolly2016 and Orioles CEO John Angelos regarding his family’s future with the team. pic.twitter.com/k577Ya9D7f — Paul Gessler (@PaulGessler) January 16, 2023
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott added: “Baltimore knows what it feels like when a team is disinvested and going to leave. This isn’t that. The Orioles have continued to make deep investments in the community. There are many worries I have. The Orioles are not one of them.”
When Angelos was asked for more clarity on the future of the team’s ownership, the atmosphere started to get a little tense as his temper began to rise.
“It’s really not important at all in the grand scheme of things to people that are clear-thinking and who mean well and have a perspective, to, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, while we’re talking about putting kids that don’t have a shot in hell of anything because of where they were born, through college, to be talking about those kinds of things,” he said.
“So I’m going to object to that question today, in this forum, before the mayor of Baltimore and all of these people.”
With his voice rising, Angelos continued: “I find that to be highly inappropriate, and I think that your focus is completely out of touch and has no perspective whatsoever on what real-world people face and what the real pillar and role of an organization like the Orioles and [the NFL’s Baltimore] Ravens ought to be.
“You can find any garden-variety, high-value sports team or involvement, you’re always going to have some controversy, but I’ve been very outspoken, I’m very transparent. In fact, I would invite you and all your colleagues—next week, not on Martin Luther King Day—you can come back in this building, you can meet me in this office.
“I’ll take you down to the third floor, and I’ll show you the financials of the Orioles. I’ll show you the governance of the Orioles. I’ll show you everything you want to know….But today, on MLK Day, I’m not answering any of those questions.”
The reporter pointed out that it was Angelos who decided to invite reporters to meet for questions on MLK Day, so he shouldn’t be upset if he is asked about it, but Angelos had already waved the session onto the next question.
There were many who were not happy with Angelos’ response after a video of the Q&A was posted on social media.
Taking to Twitter, one angry respondent wrote: “This is the most condescending/disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Another added: “With all due respect, your families’ ownership has been pathetic when it comes to assembling a team for decades. And you aren’t transparent at all, Mr Angelos. Fans deserve better.”
A third person was equally unimpressed, tweeting: “He does not want to answer questions about the team but proceeds to blather on and on about their supposed great turnaround! What a total clown!”
Do you have a tip on a sports story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about MLB? Let us know via entertainment@newsweek.com.