Braves Sideline Reporter Ripped By Media Elites For Trying To Get Woman's Phone Number

Here we go with the Society of Professional Journalist types from the sports world lecturing someone with a press pass, yet again, over how they acted at a sporting event. 

The drama this morning surrounds a Monday night bit where a Braves FanDuel sideline reporter named Wiley Ballard went into the stands at the Sky Dome to interview a couple of local blondes. It's was a run-of-the-mill nothing sideline report where the guys in the booth kicked it up a notch by challenging Wiley to get phone numbers. 

You'll never guess how the Big J credentialed media reacted to this. Let's cut to the chase: These humorless, everything is serious, uptight credential-chasing, holier than thous blew this way out of proportion as they rushed to condemn Wiley as some sort of journalistic terrorist who ruined the profession. 

Yes, the Big Js actually used Society of Professional Journalist rules against Wiley

To be fair, Tyler here isn't a Big J just yet. He's still in school, according to his bio, but he's been trained to see the world by a set of rules created by this ‘Society’ that allegedly sets the ground rules for how baseball sideline reporters are supposed to act on TV. 

Here's the problem for Tyler: Wiley isn't a journalist. He's a broadcaster. He's a sideline reporter. He's an actor. 

If you go to Wiley's bio, it doesn't say "journalist." It says "sports broadcaster." 

Wiley's job is to do good television and his role as the young guy getting phone numbers at a baseball game was the bit. Three people — they look like Gen Z to me — having fun, trading barbs, she's cracking on Wiley and life, for this moment, just wasn't so serious. 

Until….the Big Js get their hands on this content. 

Now it's a big problem. 

Wiley is a misogynist. He's a pig. He will be canceled for this. Everyone should be fired is also being thrown around. However, if Wiley were an actor on the Bachelor and was tonguing 25 women over two months of shows, he'd be celebrated as some sort of perfect man. 

In this case, Wiley's role isn't to tongue the women. He's simply asking for a phone number. 

OMG, WHAT A PIG. CANCEL HIM. 

Wiley's biggest problem here is that he's working in the sideline reporting world. If he were a Bachelor character, he would be cheered and be a hero for sleeping with multiple women. 

Abby gets it. She understands that this guy isn't tonguing women with a Braves press pass hanging from his neck. 

Kristi Dosh gets it. 

See, this isn't hard. Every single second doesn't have to be so serious like these blue checkmarks make it out to be. Plus, people at home aren't sifting through their junk pile to find their trusty Society of Professional Journalist rules book to decide if Wiley broke any rules. 

And if you're pissed the next time a woman asks for a phone number during a game, remember if you were pro/anti-Wiley.