(Suit)case closed
Bautista says he’s resolved spat with Sportsnet,
The same day his months-long standoff with Sportsnet was made public, Jose Bautista said he will no longer boycott the Blue Jays’ official broadcaster.
“The issue’s resolved and we’re moving on,” Bautista told The Star’s Richard Griffin before Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers.
The all-star outfielder refused to elaborate on how the conflict was resolved, but he spoke one-on-one with Sportsnet’s Barry Davis before the game.
Representatives for the Blue Jays and Sportsnet — which are both owned by Rogers Communications — declined to comment. A Rogers’ spokeswoman, similarly, said the company will “continue to decline the opportunity to comment.”
The Star reported Wednesday that Bautista has refused to do one-on-one interviews with Sportsnet for more than three months in protest of the broadcaster’s refusal to pay the cost of a designer suit purchased by rookie Devon Travis as part of a TV segment aired on Sportsnet on May 19.
Bautista believed Travis should not have paid for the suit himself — since it was Sportsnet’s idea to do the TV special — and that he needed to stand up for his younger teammate.
Melissa Austria, owner of GotStyle Menswear, where the TV segment was shot, told The Star on Wednesday that Travis was given a 50-per-cent discount for his ensemble, which included a Ted Baker suit, shirt, tie, belt and boots. Austria said he paid $900.
“We were asked to do this story,” she said.
“I asked (Sportsnet) if they wanted us to gift it, they said ‘No.’ They said, ‘Just give a discount.’ We gave a discount that I think is more than fair.”
Austria said she regularly provides free clothes or gift certificates for charitable or publicity reasons. Another Jays’ player, Kevin Pillar, for instance, received a complimentary suit for participating in one of the store’s own events, she said. GotStyle also provided a $1,000 wardrobe to a Toronto Star reader as part of a makeover contest in July.
But in this case she said she was following Sportsnet’s lead.
Austria said she has a $60,000 yearly advertising contract with Sportsnet, but the store does not provide clothing in exchange for advertising. She often sells suits to Rogers’ company stylists, and she said she will occasionally give discounts for bulk purchases.
She said she would rather give free suits to people who need them, referencing True Patriot Love, a charity that supports Canadian veterans.
“So I’d love to do a challenge with (Bautista) that for every game that the Blue Jays win, we’ll donate a suit to True Patriot Love and he’ll match it. It’s such a silly conversation. Let’s turn this around and do something more positive.”