Ken Rosenthal, one of baseball’s most recognizable sideline reporters, is accustomed to being in the middle of the action. But during the Milwaukee Brewers’ wild 9-8 walk-off win over the St. Louis Cardinals on September 13, the veteran reporter found himself at the center of an unusual viral moment. Drawing attention far beyond the field of play.
After Brewers infielder Andruw Monasterio delivered a game-winning single in the 10th inning to clinch both a thrilling comeback and Milwaukee’s playoff berth. The Brewers raced onto the field for the traditional Gatorade shower. Rosenthal, handling the live postgame interview for Fox, tried to dodge the celebratory chaos while keeping his focus on Monasterio.
In the scramble, Rosenthal backed into longtime Brewers team photographer Scott Paulus, knocking him to the ground. Cameras captured Rosenthal giving what appeared to be a sharp glare at Paulus before resuming his line of questioning. The clip quickly circulated on social media, with Milwaukee fans accusing the broadcaster of being dismissive.
Rosenthal addressed the moment Monday, offering a candid explanation and apology in a video released Sept. 15.
“When I looked at the video and saw this, I was surprised at how upset I appeared,” Rosenthal said. “I was more confused than anything, but I had to continue the interview. We were live, folks, on national television, couldn’t stop. And, that said, I felt awful about what happened. Afterward, I went up to Scott. Whom I’ve worked with in pits before over the years, and I apologized, and I apologized profusely.”
Rosenthal clarified that the reaction many perceived as frustration was instead a split-second effort to stay composed on live television. While he acknowledged the optics did not look good, he stressed his respect for Paulus and the work photographers do in documenting the sport.
Paulus, for his part, did not appear rattled. Instead, he responded with humor on Instagram, sharing a tongue-in-cheek homage to Neil Leifer’s iconic 1965 photograph of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston.
Rosenthal noted that he will not cross paths with the Brewers again this season unless the team makes it to the World Series. If that happens, he said he looks forward to reconnecting with Paulus in the stadium camera pits.
“If I do see the Brewers in the World Series, I look forward to working with Scott again … and sharing a good laugh with him over this,” Rosenthal said.
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