Johnson Rubbed the Wrong Way
By lefty
"Don't get in my face, and don't talk back to me, all right," Randy Johnson said as he lived up to his Surname while introducing himself to the New York media.
Johnson was in New York to take his physical and was accompanied by Yankee director of team security Jerry Laveroni on the walk from his hotel to his doctors appointment.
Along the way the 6'10" lefty, encountered a cameraman from WCBS-TV Channel 2 who was assigned to cover Johnson heading to his physical. That's when Johnson decided to get physical himself by using his right hand to obstruct the camera.
"Get out of my face, that's all I ask," Johnson requested, as he approached the cameraman.
"No cameras," Laveroni chimed in.
"Don't get in my face," Johnson repeated, "I don't care who you are. Don't get in my face," he said again as he used his right hand to obstruct the camera and Laveroni forced the camera to focus on the ground.
"I'm just taking a picture," reasoned Vinny Everett, the cameraman, on the public Manhattan street.
That's when Johnson decided that Everett wasn't worthy and said "Don't get in my face, and don't talk back to me, all right."
"Don't talk back to me?"
Luckily Johnson had Jerry Laveroni with him or he may have been overcome by the swarming media mob of one.
One would think Johnson would be a little less tense, after signing such a tremendous contract extension and having his wish granted of pitching for the Yankees. Could he already be feeling the pressure of life in "The Big City?" Johnson admitted as much in this statement he issued through agent Alan Nero distributed by the Yankees;
"Regarding the unfortunate incident that happened this morning as I was on my way to take a physical, I hope that everyone will understand that the past few days have been a bit overwhelming and I wish I had handled the situation differently," Johnson said. "I am very sorry it happened."
Click here to SEE THE VIDEO and read more about how Randy Johnson is learning how to endear himself to New York. Also, you can click on the image of Johnson above to see a frame grab from that video.
