Ok, so one hand we have Mariano Rivera, a walking legend who plays for an organization that has no shortage of them. On the other hand, we have Joba Chamberlain, a player who came into the game with a lot of hype and has failed to live up to it. Someone needs to check him.
According to a story courtesy the New York Daily News, the New York Yankees reliever got upset when Rivera told him to be quiet while he conducted an interview in the dugout before Saturday’s game. Rivera was chatting about an emotional event he held with local families earlier in the day.
“Don’t ever shush me again,” Chamberlain told Rivera in full view of reporters and fans.
Asked after the game about the exchange, Chamberlain said, “I’m not talking about it.” Chamberlain said he hadn’t spoken with Rivera since the spat. Asked whether he felt the two needed to talk, Chamberlain sniped, “That’s between me and Mo.”
Rivera sounded shocked at the response of the reliever but said it would be taken care of.
“It’s amazing,” Rivera said before confirming that he and Chamberlain had not spoken since. “We’ll take care of it. We’re grownups and I know better than that. We’ll take care of that.”
While Rivera was doing the interview, Chamberlain was on top of the steps yelling while he signed autographs and talked with fans. The Yankees closer had to stop a few times during to the interview because he lost his train of thought as the shouts got louder and called out to his teammate.
“Joba! Yo! Bro!” Rivera shouted. “Shhh. Stop it.”
Chamberlain quickly replied, telling Rivera that he was talking with family.
“You do this every day,” Chamberlain said, referring to Rivera’s meeting with the media. “I don’t get to see my family every day.”
Someone needs to educate Chamberlain on how you address a person who has legendary status like Rivera does, if he tells you to hush you hush.