The death of Bobby Jenks shocked the baseball world last week and emotions ran high on social media as ESPN caught some flak for its wording on a social media post about the late former closer.
Jenks, 44, died after a battle with stomach cancer. He was a two-time All-Star with the Chicago White Sox and was the anchor for the bullpen in 2005 during their magical postseason run, defeating the Houston Astros in the World Series. He had four saves in that postseason.
A social media post about Jenks described him as "being on the roster."
"Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died on Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced," the post on X read.
Former players like A.J. Pierzynski and Doug Mientkiewicz took issue with the post.
Fox News Digital reached out to ESPN for comment.
Jenks was a fifth-round pick in 2000 out of high school, made his MLB debut in 2005 and immediately burst onto the scene. In 32 games, he pitched to a 2.75 ERA and struck out 11.4 batters per nine.
Because of his rapid success, he earned the closer's role ahead of the postseason. He appeared in all four games of that Fall Classic and got the final out that snapped the Sox's 88-year championship drought.
He retired after the 2011 season, spending six of his seven seasons in Chicago and the other with the Boston Red Sox.
Jenks finished his career with a 3.53 ERA and 351 strikeouts.
"List of cities Indiana has beef with: Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles," the post read.
The WNBA announced that Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia would be receiving franchises over the next few years, adding to Toronto and Portland. Cunningham wondered aloud whether fans would want to flock to the arenas in Cleveland and Detroit.
"I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland)," she said on July 1.
Cunningham clarified her comments while speaking to reporters on Thursday, and defended "blue-collar working people" associated with Cleveland and Detroit.
"First of all, I know the history of the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had teams before, and they got us where we’re at, so I’m thankful for that," she said. "All I was really getting at was Broadway, the off-court lifestyle and so I think that is really intriguing. I think Miami’s intriguing. That’s all I was getting at."
"I think it would be fun to get some teams outside of the NBA market.... I think people totally misread the situation. I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people. That’s where I come from. I’m from Missouri. I get I’m in Indiana, and that’s why I’m kind of hinting at Broadway sounds fun, Miami sounds fun. That’s all I was getting at."
Cunningham also addressed the backlash to her comments.
"The people that hype you up are going to be the same people pushing you down. And so, for me, I always just kind of stay right here in the middle. I think that was my personal opinion," she said.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
