It’s a longstanding tradition in professional sports that older players routinely put younger players (especially rookies) through hazing rituals or practical jokes. You know, taping guys to the goal post in football, leaving the rookie with the $10,000 tab at a restaurant, etc.
But Brett Myers took things a step further last Saturday when he orchestrated a pretty complex prank against second-year guy Kyle Kendrick. Myers convinced manager Charlie Manuel and several other people in the Phillies’ organization to go along with the gag, which was telling Kendrick that he’d been traded to the Yomiuri Giants of Japan for a guy named Kobayashi Iwamura.
Kendrick was visibly shocked, and couldn’t even gather his thoughts for a news conference. Then, with cameras rolling, Myers announced that Kendrick had been punk’d.
I watched the video clip, which is now on YouTube, and have to say that I felt bad for Kendrick. He looked like he was about to cry, which certainly shouldn’t be the point of a “prank”, right? I didn’t find it funny at all; watching this just made me feel uncomfortable.
What do you think?