Stephen Nesbitt of the Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have no plans to delay or cancel their Jung Ho Kang bobblehead giveaway. It’s currently scheduled for August 11.
Kang, as you likely remember, is currently under investigation for sexual assault. He is alleged to have given a woman a drink which caused her to lose consciousness. He is alleged to have then sexually assaulted her. The allegations say this occurred in Chicago during the Pirates’ visit to play the Cubs last month. Kang has not been arrested and, obviously, is still eligible to play, as Major League Baseball will almost certainly wait until the investigation has progressed to act under the league’s domestic violence policy.
Nesbitt contacted the Pirates for comment. The club issued a statement in which it said it took the issue “very seriously,” that it respected the legal process in Chicago and is deferring to the Commissioner’s Office as far as baseball was concerned. When asked if it the club was worried about the optics of having a bobblehead day for a player under investigation for sexual assault, the spokesman said “[o]ur fans will judge the organization by its actions.”
In other news, in 2002 the Marlins cancelled a Ryan Dempster bobblehead day because he got traded before the giveaway because going through with that would’ve been awkward.
