Odd no comment by Brandon Webb

[Pringle]

In the AP story on Jon Hooker, the former UK baseball player killed about the plane in Lexington, former Wildcats teammate Brandon Webb "declined to comment" on Hooker.

Does that seem strange to anybody else that Webb would decline to comment on a former teammate who was just killed? I can understand if he didn't want to talk in-depth about it - maybe he didn't even know the guy all that well (not sure how long they overlapped). But he couldn't offer any public condolences regarding a former teammate? A no comment? Strange - anyone who has dealt with Webb, is he difficult? Quiet?

 

[BYH]

I'd give Webb the benefit of the doubt. He might be in shock over this and unable to come up with anything to say.

And how many times do you read obits of those who are killed suddenly (car crash, murder, etc) in which loved ones decline to comment? Happens all the time. And it's totally understandable.

 

[Oz]

I'd give Webb the benefit of the doubt. He might be in shock over this and unable to come up with anything to say.

And how many times do you read obits of those who are killed suddenly (car crash, murder, etc) in which loved ones decline to comment? Happens all the time. And it's totally understandable.

My thoughts exactly. And if he happened to know the guy, he would probably want to track down family/friends first to get through it.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Also, maybe the reporter was the first person to tell Webb that the guy was on this flight.

 

[Cosmo]

To answer the first question, Webb is not especially quiet or difficult. I always found him very pleasant to be around and talk to.

 

[broadway joe]

Webb's a good guy. Very down to earth and friendly. I assume the no comment was because it was too emotional for him to talk about it right away.

 

[write then drink]

a reporter should make that clear in the story

"no comment" kind of has gruff connotations

if a guy says, "oh man, I really can't talk about that right now," he shouldn't get a curt "Webb declined to comment" in print

 

[Cosmo]

Write: I was always taught there were degrees of "no comment."

Declined was always seemed to be the most polite. You only said "refused" comment if someone was rude or threatening.

 

[loveyabye]

Article today said he was devastated and wanted to comment before tonight's game.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

What difference does it make if Webb didn't want to comment? He just lost one of his closest friends in a horrible way.

 

[Pringle]

What difference does it make if Webb didn't want to comment? He just lost one of his closest friends in a horrible way.

I don't really think it's any reason to get confrontational, dude. I was just wondering because it seemed like a strange thing to "decline comment" about.

Between this and the CNN/9-11 thread, I think some of you might be in the wrong damned business.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

What part of my post is confrontational man? Sorry if it sounded like that, but it's been a bad day for me.

 

[Pringle]

What part of my post is confrontational man? Sorry if it sounded like that, but it's been a bad day for me.

That's cool - it just felt like you were kind of taking me to task for wondering why Webb "declined comment." Like someone on the thread said, usually that seems to indicate a gruff, adversarial answer. Typically, most professional athletes are pretty good about fielding questions at times like this. I just thought it seemed odd and, now with more light shed on it, wish the story would have explained it better - that Webb had to pull his thoughts together before talking about it, something along those lines. I wasn't trying to be insensitive to Webb.

 

[outofplace]

What part of my post is confrontational man? Sorry if it sounded like that, but it's been a bad day for me.

That's cool - it just felt like you were kind of taking me to task for wondering why Webb "declined comment." Like someone on the thread said, usually that seems to indicate a gruff, adversarial answer. Typically, most professional athletes are pretty good about fielding questions at times like this. I just thought it seemed odd and, now with more light shed on it, wish the story would have explained it better - that Webb had to pull his thoughts together before talking about it, something along those lines. I wasn't trying to be insensitive to Webb.

It sounds like the story just wasn't clear. The first thing I heard about this in reference to Webb was that Hooker was a close friend of his. The part about being teammates came later. I can definitely understand not being ready to speak about it. The story definitely should have indicated that.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Looks like Webb made a helluva statement by pitching the next day and beating the Padres.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Between this and the CNN/9-11 thread, I think some of you might be in the wrong damned business.

Maybe you're in the wrong business if you think his post was confrontational.

 

[Pringle]

Between this and the CNN/9-11 thread, I think some of you might be in the wrong damned business.

Maybe you're in the wrong business if you think his post was confrontational.

I was wrong. I apologize for being overly sensitive in defense of my post. I saw something as an attack that was not one.

 

[BYH]

Steering this back on track...Webb spoke eloquently of Jon Hooker in an AP story yesterday:

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9626248