San Francisco Giants’ former player Aubrey Huff criticises appointment of first female MLB coach Alyssa Nakken
The former San Francisco Giants player Aubrey Huff has criticised the team’s move to hire the first full-time female coach in Major League Baseball history.
Alyssa Nakken, a former softball player for Sacramento State who began working with the Giants in 2014, has been appointed to help with outfield work before games and to be a batting practice pitcher, alongside fellow coach Mark Hallberg.
But Huff was not impressed, tweeting: “Couldn’t imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex female softball player. I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present. Can’t imagine how it will play out with a full time female coach running around. This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it.”
Huff, who is a supporter of Donald Trump, was criticised two weeks ago for a “joke” tweet in which he advocated kidnapping Iranian women and making them “fan and feed” Americans, “amongst other things”.
“Does nobody have a sense of humor anymore!?” he later tweeted, by way of explanation. “The way Iranian women are treated over there I simply wanted [to] say I’d go there rescue them & bring them back [to] the states. And they would be so thankful [to] escape that hell that they’d fan me & feed me grapes. Never said rape!”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler made the announcement of Nakken’s appointment on Thursday.
“Alyssa and Mark are highly respected members of the organization and I’m delighted that they will now focus their talents on helping to build a winning culture in the clubhouse,” Kapler said.
“In every organization, environment affects performance, and baseball clubhouses are no different. That’s why in addition to assisting the rest of the coaching staff on the field, Mark and Alyssa will focus on fostering a clubhouse culture that promotes high performance through, among other attributes, a deep sense of collaboration and team.”
