The Yankees disliked the way Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton handled the media after his Super Bowl 50 loss so much that they implored their players to "act more like Russell Wilson and less like Cam Newton" at a training session this February.
In a town like New York where the press is always ready to make you a story, that does make some sense. You don't want players becoming the story that the New York Post can tear apart because of "attitude issues" or whatever else they'd say. Derek Jeter spent his career giving the most vanilla answers to every question asked of him. It's boring, but effective.
For some strange reason, the Yankee front office isn't taking their own advice. Twice in the last couple of months, Yankee brass has become the story. Lonn Trost was the first offender, letting everyone know that the seats right behind home plate aren't for poor people who might not know how to act.
I'm sure there were a couple CEO types out there who nodded their head in agreement, but the vast majority of Yankee fans don't find themselves among the 1%. Those are the people you're talking down to. The core of the fanbase that buys merchandise and concessions and show up in every city across America when the Yankees are in town might not pay thousands of dollars for a ticket, but to act like they are some plagued species unworthy of association is disgusting.
Not to be outdone, Randy Levine threw his hat into the ring this week. It should come as a surprise to no one that Levine thinks Donald Trump should be awarded the Republican nomination for president. Unfortunately for his supporters, due to a thing called the rules, Trump seems likely to fall short of the majority needed to obtain his party's nomination ahead of the convention this summer.
Trump and many of his supporters have stated that these rules should be thrown out the window in favor of awarding the candidate with the most votes the nomination. Levine says "that's how elections are supposed to work" while seemingly ignoring that the Electoral College exists. A straight popular vote is really not how it always works.
The rules have worked fine until this point. It's only when Trump looks like he might fall short of the threshold needed for the nomination that some have decided the system is broken. However, none of that is the point. Why is Levine speaking on these matters? It draws unnecessary attention and press to a team that is in desperate need of some positive spin.
There is just nothing to be gained by Levine speaking out on this topic, even as New Yorkers head to the polls for the state's primary. It screams of entitlement to say that "people don't like seeing Donald Trump on top" like there is some kind of conspiracy happening. Maybe people just don't think he'd be a good president? Nah, it can't be that.
It's time for the Yankee front office to be seen and not heard. This is especially true when those members being heard from too often are not the owners or GM. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and all of that, but sometimes the best thing you can do is take the Jeter approach to the media. Say nothing and give them nothing to turn into negative press and you can't become the story. Trost and Levine would do well to follow the captain's lead with that approach.