Late last week, the Chicago Sun-Times released a story that Chicago White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger had threatened to sue 670 The Score after his alleged domestic violence victim appeared on Parkins & Spiegel.
After returning from the President’s Day holiday, Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel defended their actions.
“We didn’t really address any of this on social media. We figured it started on the radio, let’s keep it on the radio,” Parkins said. “We got wind during the 5:00 hour of the Friday show heading into the holiday weekend from Steve Greenberg of the (Chicago) Sun-Times that a story was gonna be dropping. That he had spoken with Mike Clevinger out at Spring Training and Clevinger was none too pleased with us, the show, and the radio station for putting his accuser, Olivia Finestead, on the show last week. (Greenberg) asked for comment, we said ‘You should probably talk to our boss’.”
“My lawyers are paying attention,’’ Clevinger told the Sun-Times last week. “My lawyers are getting in contact with them, and they probably already sent a cease-and-desist for defamation. So [The Score] just got themselves involved in this, too, so good for them.”
“As of right before we came on the air, we have not been sent a cease and desist letter from Mike Clevinger. So, so far, this is all just media tough talk via Steve Greenberg and the Sun-Times,” Parkins continued. “First point of order: we haven’t gotten a cease and desist. I’ll editorialize here for a second: I don’t expect to.”
“I agree,” added Spiegel. “I think ‘My lawyers are paying attention’ is a scare tactic that doesn’t work on a decently constructed corporation and a journalistic radio station.”
Parkins said he felt confident the show and the station had acted ethically and morally during the interview, before adding “Traditionally, suing the media is not usually a winning proposition.”
“They used to say ‘You can’t fight the barrel of ink’,” Spiegel said. “We don’t have a barrel of ink, but we do have a 50,000 watt blowtorch and also we did nothing wrong.”
