Ex-Giant Aubrey Huff Goes After Team for Hiring First Female Coach in MLB
By Alex Coffman
The world of men's sports is starting to adjust the equality of their coaching staffs, and teams across the NFL and NBA have been slowly trying to rectify the situation in recent years. After an offseason of intriguing female assistant hires at the lower levels of minor league baseball, the San Francisco Giants became the first in MLB to hire a full-time female assistant coach in Alyssa Nakken this week, and one person in particular wasn't happy about this.
Former Giants player Aubrey Huff, who's been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, was irate with his former team's hire, tweeting harshly about the prospect of women in the clubhouse.
I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present. Can’t imagine how it will play out with a full time female coach running around. This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it. Only in @SFGiants https://t.co/z9Q0GeklSG
— Aubrey Huff (@aubrey_huff) January 17, 2020
Huff continued to criticize the hire with a second tweet, where the former two-time World Series winner made a derogatory suggestion about taking instructions from a woman, and tagged his ex-teammates.
Couldn’t imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex female softball player. ? Have fun with that @bcraw35 @bbelt9 @BusterPosey
— Aubrey Huff (@aubrey_huff) January 17, 2020
Giants manager Gabe Kapler added Nakken to his coaching staff because of her experience as a former star player in softball, playing for Sacramento State and ranking among their best ever in the program, batting .304 for her career with the third-most home runs (19) and most putouts (1,265) in school history.
Compared to some men who've "never played the game," Nakken rates supremely well.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler says in a text message new assistant coach Alyssa Nakken (nack-in), who MLB confirms becomes first female in major league history on a big league coaching staff, will be in uniform. Ex-@SacStSoftball 1B to focus on high performance & clubhouse culture.
— Janie McCauley (@JanieMcCAP) January 17, 2020
Kapler believes that Nakken, along with new hire Mark Hallberg, will be essential in building a great culture and more team cohesion behind the scenes.
It's a progressive hire that Huff obviously isn't happy about, but it is a hire that follows recent upward trends for female coaches, and the dinosaur-like Huff will have to accept being left in the dust.