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New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay appeared to take issue with “wrapping sports in the flag” as Team USA stars preached patriotism during the World Baseball Classic this month.
Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge were among the players who discussed what it meant to carry the USA on their chest. Team USA manager Mark DeRosa even brought Robert J. O’Neill, the man credited with killing terrorist Osama bin Laden, into the locker room to talk to the players before their match against Canada in the quarterfinals.
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Michael Kay during New York Yankees Old Timers Day on August 24, 2024 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York. (Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kay said that sort of thing made him a “little uneasy”.
“The thing that makes me a little uneasy … I don’t like to wrap sports in the flag and preach patriotism and bring in SEAL Team 6 people. The only uniform that counts to me is the one worn by the men and women of our military,” he said Wednesday on ESPN New York radio. “They decide wins and losses. You don’t represent me because you have the United States on your chest. I don’t believe that.”
Sports columnist Mike Lupica, who was with Kay, said it was a “little crazy” to bring in a member of SEAL Team 6, adding that anytime politics is brought into sports, it opens a “rabbit hole we don’t want to go down.”
DeRosa explained earlier this week why he brought in O’Neill.
USA’s Bryce Harper celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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“It was my decision to bring him in,” DeRosa said, via Defector. “He was actually brought in a couple of days in Houston. It wasn’t until the Canada game. I think for me there has to be… you never want that to be lost as to why you do this. Whatever the ‘why’ is, and a lot of people, as Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I’m going to do this for every serviceman and woman who protects our freedom, who protects our freedom.’
“I just thought it would be kind of a time to redirect and make those guys understand that even though this is an incredible event and you get a chance to share a locker room with the greats of the game, there’s a reason why you do it and a reason why people protect our freedom at night. I just wanted to honor that.”
Kay made similar comments about the hype of players representing their country with fervent patriotism and making it more than it is. He said he did not believe that “international competition is a referendum on my country.”
U.S. pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Dominican Republic during a semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park on March 15, 2026. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
“There are people who represent America, who really represent America, and you know who those people are? The men and women in the military,” he said via Awful Announcing. “That’s what it all comes down to. They determine the greatness of this country. Their sheer bravery, how they fight for freedom and put their lives on the line — that’s important to me. USA winning the gold medal against Canada? Wonderful. Excited for them. Not a referendum on my country, just not.
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“But somehow we’ve turned this into, my country is better than your country — stop it. Come on. Aren’t we getting a little frivolous with this jingoistic stuff? … I’m glad everybody’s brought in. Mark DeRosa brought in one of the Navy SEAL guys who was part of the group that killed Osama Bin Laden. I don’t know.”
