Susan Slusser slams KNBR’s Larry Krueger for ‘utterly unprofessional’ comments

San Francisco Giants beat reporter Susan Slusser shared some matter-of-fact thoughts during her appearance on KNBR last Friday. Her response to a question from guest host Larry Krueger about the longterm impact of the Giants’ Pride Night controversy raised eyebrows.

It sounds like they must’ve raised Krueger’s eyebrows as well, though he didn’t say anything at the time, choosing instead to share his thoughts Monday on social media.

That didn’t sit very well with Slusser.

The Giants and Major League Baseball have been dealing with the PR fallout after several players protested their annual Pride Night celebration by writing Bible verses on hats that featured a rainbow version of the team’s logo.

During an appearance on KNBR’s Murph & Markus, Krueger asked the San Francisco Chronicle’s Slusser if the fallout will have a long-term impact on the team’s ability to attract free agents.

“Are they going to have a hard time attracting players because other players are looking at these guys being called bigots and attacked in the media for either not wearing the hat or writing biblical verses?” asked Krueger. “Do you think, long term, the Giants are going to have a hard time attracting free agents because of what happened this year?”

“I mean, bigoted free agents, maybe, I guess,” Slusser replied. “… Certainly, it’s not a secret that San Francisco has a huge gay community, many gay fans. To me, this is a little bit on the players. If you don’t want to be a part of that, A, maybe don’t openly insult your paying customers after a game, but B, don’t sign here.

“Maybe that will happen. I don’t know. But that just seems honestly kinda crazy to me. You know where you’re coming. This is San Francisco. It’s not a secret.”

Slusser’s pointed remarks had the requisite reactions from people on all sides. By Monday, some on social media were pondering if the longtime Bay Area baseball reporter might receive some kind of punishment, or even be fired, for her comments.

Quoting from one such post, Krueger shared his thoughts, saying that he likes Slusser and finds her a “credible writer,” but that he took great exception to her answer to his question about the Pride Night controversy.

Slusser saw that post and, as is her style, did not mince words with a response.

“It was in answer to YOUR QUESTION – and my response was ‘I guess maybe bigots.’ If you had a problem with the answer, say it then. On the air. This is utterly unprofessional,” she wrote, tagging KNBR.

Soon after, Krueger deleted his post.

As for Slusser, she spent the afternoon engaging with just about everyone who took issue with her comments or their framing, demanding that people go back and listen to the interview to hear what she actually said rather than what they think she said.

We’ll see if Kreuger decides to continue his conversation directly with Slusser, who has made it very clear that if you have some thoughts about what she’s said, she’d love to hear them directly.