Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has been notably absent from a lot of the goings-on regarding his baseball club.
This offseason, he avoided attending Winter Weekend to skirt around pressure from fans, he led a conglomerate of billionaires and companies to purchase upwards of a $3 billion stake in the PGA Tour. And now he's avoiding media members at spring training.
According to many Sox reporters down in Fort Myers, Henry's been doing this for quite some time. MassLive's Chris Cotillo said "the streak continues" after Henry refused to speak to reporters on Feb. 19, the first official full-team workout of spring training.
NBC Sports Boston's John Thomase reported that Henry speaks to media infrequently, to say the least. He said Henry spoke to reporters just after the Mookie Betts trade and at Winter Weekend 2022 after the unexpected successes of the 2021 ALCS team. Since Jan. 2022, Henry has not spoken to media members. However, he has made statements through email at least once.
John Henry continues to avoid reporters — and accountability for his actions — at Red Sox spring training
Asked if he had a couple minutes to talk about the team, John Henry laughed and told us said no.
— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) February 19, 2024
Henry didn't even speak at his new chief baseball officer's introductory press conference. According to Matt Vautour of MassLive, Henry arrived 20 minutes after the event began to slip onto the panel midway through the proceedings. When a reporter asked him afterward to speak, Henry walked away without saying a word.
Henry's reluctance to speak in recent years tells fans all they need to know about where his priorities lie. For years since the Betts trade, as Henry has avoided reporters, the question of whether or not he cares about the Red Sox has been asked repeatedly. In January, the reintroduction of Theo Epstein into the front office confirmed what Henry's radio silence already said — he, frankly, couldn't care less.
It's clear in the way he allows Sam Kennedy to fumble through interviews on his behalf, acting as his human shield, and in the way Tom Werner's promises to fans haven't been fulfilled. Henry doesn't talk to reporters because he knows there's no defense for how he's treated the Red Sox, all while misleading fans about the team's true plans.
I think it was a year ago today, 2/19/2023, that John Henry last answered questions (?) (via email). This quote from him is more interesting in retrospect. https://t.co/BiAHPovrRu pic.twitter.com/kbf1hJI7L0
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) February 19, 2024
Continuing to duck reporters even after all the allegations about him not caring about the state of his club is a poor look for Henry, along with the team he owns. As the man with the final say on all financial decisions, it's cowardly and embarrassing for Kennedy and Werner to be taking the fall repeatedly for Henry over the last four years. And the heat he's consistently allowed them to take for his decisions is outright shameful.
If Henry was honest with fans or owned up to his mistakes, there wouldn't be so much of the pressure from fans and reporters that he feels he so desperately needs to avoid. The vast majority of Boston's current struggles are entirely self-imposed, and all of the deceptions this offseason could have been avoided had he told the truth.
But Henry would rather hide from accountability like a vampire hides from the sun.