Darren Rovell Fires Off Insensitive Tweet Regarding Bill Buckner's Passing
By Adam Godfrey
Baseball lost one of it's great players on Monday, when legendary slugger Bill Buckner passed away.
Buckner played in the MLB for 22 season and played for five different teams throughout his career, having been a stud during his days with the Cubs and Dodgers.
In this day and age, everyone pays their respects through social media, and this was no different. However, Darren Rovell took things a bit too far with his farewell tweet to Buckner, making the moment largely about himself and the late ballplayer's worst failure.
Bill Buckner’s death comes with unexpected guilt. The guilt of 8-year-old me, who thanks in part to his error (it’s Calvin Schiraldi & Bob Stanley too) got his only major sports championship (Mets, Jets, Nets, Islanders). Rest In Peace, Bill. I’m sorry my joy came with your pain. pic.twitter.com/P5wbRUAy0u
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 27, 2019
Rovell referenced Buckner's costly error in the 1986 World Series, that lost the Red Sox the title and extended their championship drought. Rovell, a Mets fan, thanked Buckner for giving him his only major sports championship.
Rovell, in effort to commemorate Buckner, made the former big leaguer's passing all about himself. Rather than show respect to Buckner, which I guess he half-heartedly tried to do, Rovell boasted about the Mets winning the World Series.
The tweet rightfully received an abundance of hate, especially from Jeff Pearlman, who went after the one thing a man values most, his ego.
The sheer ego it took to write this on the day a man died. https://t.co/aUzSOH7wri
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) May 27, 2019
It's safe to say that Rovell, who has since tried to defend his stance, is not a popular man among Red Sox brass.
While almost everyone thought of the infamous error today, most people were courteous enough to honor the man, and not the play.
The error overshadowed most everything else Buckner accomplished in his career, and he recently forgave those who affected his life for so long, when he appeared in Boston to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the 2008 home opener, following the Red Sox 2007 World Series Championship. He was greeted with a standing ovation that lasted over two minutes.