Update 8:29 pm EDT via The Athletic:
A Washington Nationals spokesperson responded with a comment
UPDATE 8:21 pm.EST:
The Nats Report reached out to F.P.’s on-air partner Bob Carpenter for comment, and we got a “No Comment.”
UPDATE: via The Athletic:
“Multiple attempts to reach Santangelo before publication were unsuccessful. After the story posted, Santangelo texted the following statement: “What I have read in your recently published article from an anonymous individual about me is untrue and did not happen. This is not representative of who I am as a man or a professional. I am confident that my name and reputation will be fully cleared.”
MASN has been made aware of a sexual misconduct allegation against broadcaster F.P. Santangelo per the Athletic
Well, Washington Nationals Fans have been wondering where in the world MASN broadcaster and fan-favorite F.P. Santangelo has been over the past few days. Now we might know the reason why he has been missing recently on broadcasts.
According to Brittany Ghiroli from The Athletic [Subscription Required], Santangelo has been accused of sexual misconduct. According to the article: “The Nationals and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) have been made aware of a sexual misconduct allegation against broadcaster F.P. Santangelo, who was not allowed to work Saturday telecast, the fourth time in eight days he was kept off local airwaves. The 31-year-old woman who made the allegation, speaking to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity, said Santangelo made an unwanted advance several years ago, ignored her when she repeatedly told him to stop, and sexually assaulted her. She detailed her experience to The Athletic after submitting an anonymous Instagram post that caught the attention of the team and the network. Multiple people close to the situation confirmed MASN is aware of the Instagram posts and the allegations contained in those posts; those sources also confirmed that the allegations are the reason the 53-year-old Santangelo has not been on the air.”
If this report is true, it would be a good reason why we haven’t seen the broadcaster. After a planned vacation, Co-host Bob Carpenter returned to the booth last night when he was on the telecast of the Nationals victory over the New York Yankees.
There have been multiple articles published in the Washington Post wondering why Santangelo was absent from the broadcast. Post reporter Jesse Dougherty reached out to Santangelo on Monday, but Santangelo declined to comment on his absence.
Santangelo, who has served as the team’s color commentator on MASN since 2011, was first taken off the air last weekend for the team’s series against the Miami Marlins. He returned to the broadcast booth for the game against Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday but was removed from the YouTube coverage of the Nationals v. Braves game on Thursday.
The Athletic article quotes a woman who made the allegation, on the condition of anonymity, said Santangelo “made an unwanted advance several years ago, ignored her when she repeatedly told him to stop, and sexually assaulted her. She detailed her experience to The Athletic after submitting an anonymous Instagram post that caught the attention of the team and the network.”
Article edited by Jonathan Mailloux
We will update the story as more information becomes available.
