Video of Mariners dugout reporter typing into phone midgame stirs controversy
The Seattle Mariners suffered a devastating loss on April 15 when Jackson Merrill drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the San Diego Padres’ 7-6 win. MORE: Tributes pour in after four-time MLB All-Star, manager dies Merrill was credited with a double, the thrilling conclusion to a five-run ninth inning at Petco Park. Mariners dugout reporter Angie Mentick had a tough night herself.
Not only was she tasked with conducting postgame interviews with players who probably didn’t want to talk about the game they just lost, Mentick was reamed on social media after a fan posted a video of her typing something into her smartphone during the game. Spoiler alert: Mentick was doing her job. She appeared to be using Google’s Gemini assistant to research “good questions after a tough loss in baseball.
” That’s what she typed into her phone, at least. MORE : Former Mariners pitcher: angry Seattle fans ‘don’t know baseball’ Mentick took her share of flack from fans who, like the original poster, questioned her ability to do her job without the help of an AI agent. But that controversy was tame compared to the existence of the video itself.
How many people have to worry about strangers recording their every action on the job? Thom Brennaman was fired by the Cincinnati Reds when a hot mic caught him using a homophobic slur, a completely unnecessary off-camera remark during a 2020 broadcast . ESPN’s Stephen A.
Smith was photographed playing solitaire while in attendance at an Indiana Pacers game. Mentick, by contrast, was captured doing something to help her on-camera work. “I’m upset about this person doing this to her because maybe they do know who Angie Mentick is,” Alanna Rizzo said on the April 16 episode of Fair Territory .