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New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay appeared to have trouble “wrapping sports in the flag” as Team USA stars preached patriotism during the World Baseball Classic this month.
Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge are some of the players who discussed what it means to wear USA on the chest. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa even brought Robert J. O’Neill, the man who allegedly killed terrorist Osama bin Laden, into the locker room to talk to the players before their match against Canada in the quarterfinals.
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Michael Kay during the New York Yankees Old Timers Day on Aug. 24, 2024 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kay said those kinds of things made her “uncomfortable.”
“The thing that makes me a little uncomfortable … I don’t like to wrap sports in the flag and preach patriotism and bring in SEAL Team 6 people. The only uniform that matters to me is the one worn by the men and women of our military,” he said Wednesday on ESPN radio in New York. “They decide to win and lose. You don’t represent me because you have the USA on your chest. I don’t believe it.”
Sportswriter Mike Lupica, who was with Kay, said that bringing in a member of SEAL Team 6 was “a bit of a mistake” for him and added that anytime politics is brought into sports it opens a “rabbit hole that we don’t want to go down.”
DeRosa explained earlier in the week why he picked up O’Neill.
United States’ Bryce Harper celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of the World Baseball Classic championship game against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
TEAM USA STARS RELEASED THE SILVER COINS AFTER THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC WAS LOST IN VENEZUELA.
“That was my decision to bring him in,” said DeRosa, using Defector. “He was admitted, in fact, for a few days in Houston. It was not before the game in Canada. I think that for me it should be … you never want it to be lost why you do this. Regardless of the ‘why’ and many people, like Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I want to do this for every service man and woman who defends why we wear our freedom in the USA.
“I just thought it would be time to reorient and make those guys understand that, even though this is an incredible event and you get to share a locker room with the stars of the game, there’s a reason why you do it and a reason why people protect our freedom at night. I just wanted to honor that.”
Kay noted the same about the enthusiasm of the players who represent their country by being passionate about their country and making it more than it is. He said he does not believe that “international competition is a poll for my country.”
United States pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Dominican Republic during the semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Depot Park on March 15, 2026. (Photos by Sam Navarro/Imagn)
“There are people who represent the United States who really represent the United States, and you know who those people are? The men and women of the military,” he said, via Awful Announcing. “That’s what it all comes down to. They determine the greatness of this country. Their sheer courage, how they fight for freedom and throw their lives on the line – that’s important to me. The United States winning a gold medal against Canada? It’s amazing. It’s exciting for them. It’s not a poll of my country, is it.
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“But somehow, we changed this, my country is better than your country – stop it. Come on. Aren’t we getting a little bit of this jingoistic stuff? … I’m glad everybody brought it. Mark DeRosa brought one of the Navy SEAL guys who was part of the team that killed Osama Bin Laden. Okay, I rate baseball … but I rate the game … you know.”
