Sammy Sosa is back in Chicago for an autograph event this weekend, his first time in the Windy City since his playing career ended in 2007.
The legendary slugger turned persona non grata answered questions from the local Fox television affiliate on Friday afternoon before things went south when Sosa was asked about his steroid use. Sosa said he was amenable to a return to the Cubs organization if owner Tom Ricketts would have him, but cut the interview short when the Fox 32 reporter asked him about his complicated legacy in baseball.
“This is not a question that I expected from you, this is not an interview that I really got to sit down with you (for),” Sosa said. “I feel great and let’s see what happens.”
Sammy Sosa tells us he found Jesus and this …
MORE: https://t.co/R1qeWBgjsy pic.twitter.com/ZE7Todfd7x
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) March 15, 2024
In 2009, the New York Times reported Sosa tested positive for steroids during his peak years, in 2003. Sosa subsequently failed to make the Baseball Hall of Fame. Less than one-fifth of Hall of Fame ballots had Sosa on them in 2022, his last year of eligibility.
Sosa testified before Congress in 2005 that he had “never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.”
But considering the Fox 32 reporter’s questions were tied to Sosa’s relationship with Ricketts, Sosa’s PED use is relevant. Ricketts has publicly called Sosa out for dishonesty over his drug use in the past. That is the main source of tension between the owner of the Cubs and his former star player.
So for Sosa to say he was not expecting those questions is a little absurd. Perhaps the slugger assumed enough time had passed for the PED storyline to have faded, but he clearly misread the room — or in this case an entire city.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.