09/28/23 03:49:00
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09/28 15:48 CDT Red Sox say Tim Wakefield is in treatment, asks for privacy
after illness outed by Schilling
Red Sox say Tim Wakefield is in treatment, asks for privacy after illness outed
by Schilling
BOSTON (AP) --- The Boston Red Sox say announcer and former knuckleballer Tim
Wakefield is undergoing treatment for a disease they did not specify and asked
for fans to respect his privacy after his illness was outed without his consent
by ex-teammate Curt Schilling.
The team issued a statement on Thursday after Schilling said on a podcast that
Wakefield had brain cancer, leading to an outpouring of support for Wakefield
--- and criticism of Schilling. The Red Sox noted that they were releasing the
statement with the permission of Wakefield and his wife, Stacy.
"Unfortunately, this information has been shared publicly without their
permission," the team said. "Their health is a deeply personal matter they
intended to keep private as they navigate treatment and work to tackle this
disease. Tim and Stacy are appreciative of the support and love that has always
been extended to them and respectfully ask for privacy at this time."
Wakefield, 57, retired in 2012 with a 200-192 record and 4.41 ERA in more than
3,000 major league innings. He was a part of Boston's 2004 and '07 World Series
championships and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2016.
He has worked for NESN, the Red Sox broadcast network, since 2012 and remained
active in Boston charities, including the Red Sox Foundation.
Schilling, who was Wakefield's teammate from 2004-07, retired in 2009. He
worked as an ESPN analyst before he was fired in 2016 for anti-transgender
social media posts. Other posts have expressed support for lynching journalists
and the Jan. 6 insurrection. His video game company, 38 Studios, went bankrupt
and defaulted on a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island.
Schilling was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later said it was in
remission. He was enshrined in the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2012, but he fell
short of induction in the national baseball hall in 2022, his final year of
eligibility, garnering 58.6% of the vote --- far short of the 75% needed.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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