So for years around here it has been accepted as fact that Red Sox/NESN side-line reporter Heidi Watney had a relationship with catcher Jason Varitek that contributed to his failed marriage. So much so that Michael Felger referenced it on the Sports Hub the other day.
Well, it appears we were all wrong. Ms. Watney was in her car, heard it, and broke out the tweet machine saying it was not true. She then took to the airwaves the next day and plead her case. Good for her.
But here’s the rub. Heidi went off script when she sent the tweets. So the Red Sox Holy Trinity went to spin control and set-up her radio interviews while scripting her for the appearances. It’s so obvious. When every sports commentator is blasting ownership for leaking stories about Terry Francona’s private life Watney’s error became a tool to get ownership’s message out there.
She denied “the rumor” without ever saying what it is and then begged Red Sox Nation to stop with the name calling and pointing of fingers. ‘This is not going to win us a championship next year,’ is the new message from Yawkey Way.
Ladies and gentlemen perhaps you may wish to google the words heidi watney jason varitek affair. Don’t bother, I just did. Click on the link. Over 6,000 results for the 2009 gossip. Now two years later she is in public denying the affair while claiming she is not that type of girl, she comes from a deeply Christian family, and was not raised that way?
Well folks, this is another reason why Red Sox ownership sucks. We all know how glitch free their p.r. machine is. Look how fast they got Watney straightened out with a message (stop pointing fingers, especially at ownership) and the forums (sports radio – only this time not the just the flagship station.)
Hey, where were they when this rumor got started in 2009? What did ownership do to squash it? A-holes. Back when it happened they probably told her there was nothing that could be done. Rumors are rumors. Meanwhile they loved it. Much the same way Louis B. Meyer loved to have actors marry and divorce and screw around. Gossip was good for business. (Except being gay – other that that there was no bad press)
Can’t you picture Heidi in Larry’s office crying her eyes out while blowing her nose? Larry giving her a list of bullshit reasons why nothing can be done.
Unless Heidi is lying, and I don’t believe she is, (otherwise she would let it rest) she has been done a terrible disservice by her bosses. They could have stopped it but did not. Perhaps they even fanned it. Who knows? All I know is that they are not good people.
Sorry for thinking you were a slut Heidi. I got bad info.
Good luck in getting your reputation back.
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Question for somervilletom: What’s worse? Referring to a woman as a “chick” or manipulating/contributing to her falsely having a loose reputation?
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Note to Globe editorial board: I was embarrassed for you guys this morning as I read your Red Sox piece. Mortgages and tuitions. Mortgages and tuitions. And prestige of course. I understand. I don’t blame you. It’s just another example of the bullshit we all have to put up with in life.
JimC says
At the time of the rumor, it was puzzling that she (or he) wasn’t canned. Presumably dating a player is verboten.
JimC says
It’s surprising that she hasn’t heard the rumor before. Or, if she’s just replying now, that does seem like PR.
I repeat myself, but trashing the entire team AND stealing Theo’s exist thunder was quite a PR coup by the Sox.
Latest rumor is that Theo’s negotiation with the Cubs is not going well. What if that fell through? I don’t think he could come back, but some people will want him to.
JimC says
FYI, there is no preview button, in Firefox on a PC.
Mark L. Bail says
There’s weird code at the top of my page on Chrome and IE.
JimC says
“Deprecated”
I try to do all my own deprecating.
David says
We’re aware of the problem … working on it. Thanks.
SomervilleTom says
EB3 asks:
The entire thread is sexist garbage. Why does anybody care about ANY of this?
Here are two specific criticisms, though, since you asked:
1. No, I can’t picture “Heidi” in “Larry’s” office “crying her eyes out while blowing her nose.” I don’t find that scene any more likely than Jason doing the same.
2. Your “apology” for thinking she was a “slut” exemplifies the kind of sexist garbage that so glaringly detracts from your otherwise pithy and often insightful comments. Fifty percent of first-time marriages fail today. Every one of those has two parties, most of them one man and one woman. Your use of the word “slut” says far more about you than either of them.
It’s bad enough that you start an entire thread about this non-event. Calling this woman a “slut” is offensive.
JimC says
Far be it from me to speak for Ernie, but I think he he’s being tongue in cheek here.
Heidi Watney is a sideline reporter. Her job is to look good. The fact that she does it with dignity and intelligence is truly secondary. The fact that she seems like a nice person is also secondary. Her job exists for sexist reasons.
Finally, Ernie didn’t call her a slut. The rumor he alludes to was prevalent, and the Red Sox never defended her. That is noteworthy, in this baseball town. We’ve had more frivolous threads than this. I know, I’ve written a couple.
johnk says
but I’m starting to believe he’s actually Dan Shaughnessy. Now I’m all confused.
johnk says
JimC says
Heidi’s been at this, what, four years? But she KNEW not to invoke the wrath of the baseball gods. Shaughnessy did not.
David says
Because people care about the Red Sox. Like it or not, pro sports are a big deal in Boston.
SomervilleTom says
I understand why people care about the Red Sox. That’s not what this thread-starter is about. This thread is about some broadcaster whom I’ve never heard of and her rumored relationship with a Red Sox player.
I ask again, why (other than voyeurism) does ANYBODY care about this?
David says
All due respect, Tom, you may never have heard of her, but a lot of people have. If you’ve ever watched a Red Sox game on NESN, you’ve seen her. People who watch every game, well, they see her a lot, and this rumor has indeed been kicking around for quite some time. And it was (unfairly) brought into recent discussions about the September collapse.
SomervilleTom says
This is still about a broadcaster, not “sports” and not the Red Sox.
This is about sexist stereotypes and voyeurism. The Red Sox angle is coincidental.
petr says
The entire post is predicated on the notion that Heidi Watney is either a promiscuous homewrecker entirely at the mercy of Jason Variteks musky testosterone or a helpless naif who has no agency of her own apart from that which the (entirely male) Red Sox hierarchy directs her to have. There is no other choice offered: Heidi Watney is a not a real person here, because EB3 is a hard core sexist who does not see her as a real person, but merely a ventriloquists dummy for males.
Pablo says
I never thought Heidi Watney added anything to the Red Sox broadcasts. Seems like the only time I see her is when she is talking about the food at a concession stand on a road trip, and generally these segments interrupted the game. “Youkilis is batting, but here’s Heidi Watney eating a fried chicken and waffle sandwich” in Cleveland.
Let’s concentrate on the game on the field.
sabutai says
This is what happens when someone who can’t spell Kardashian tries out to be a gossip columnist.