New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy decided that he was going to invoke his right to take family leave this week to be with his wife after she gave birth to the couple’s son. As far as anyone knows, the Mets were totally fine with this, as they have to be under baseball’s CBA, and I’ll assume the team has a nice Fudgy the Whale ice cream cake waiting for him on his return. However, former NFL quarterback and current talk radio host Boomer Esiason has a huge problem with Murphy’s “maternity leave,” as he explained on Boomer & Carton yesterday.
But this wasn’t just a case of a tough-as-nails athlete mouthing off about how an athlete should sacrifice the memory of his child’s birth because, “Hey bro, that baby ain’t popping out of you!” Instead, Esiason and his partner, Craig Carton, who said that Murphy could have a day before he gets “his ass back to work,” are probably basking in the motherly rage that the Bengals great’s money comment is invoking today.
Bottom line, that’s not me. I wouldn’t do that. Quite frankly, I would have said C-section before the season starts. I need to be at Opening Day. I’m sorry, this is what makes our money. This is how we’re going to live our life. This is going to give my child every opportunity to be a success in life.
Just how angry are women that Esiason said he’d sacrifice his wife’s health to make sure he was there for a game? Here’s a sampling of the comments from the Facebook post of Smart Girl Politics. You should know what you’re in for by that name alone.
I can’t wait to hear Boomer’s hot take on Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann missing his start with the flu. “Bottom line, that’s not me. I’m out there pitching with AIDS, and I’ll cut my wife’s stem cells out myself if it means making my start on time. I’m sorry, but even though I get that paycheck if I start or not, that’s the money that’s buying our kids privilege.”
