Sports talk host retracts controversial statement on former Braves first-baseman

ATLANTA G.A. (FOX Carolina) - Sports talk personality Doug Gottleib released a statement on Wednesday retracting previous statements he made about former Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman’s contract negotiations during the 2022 free agency period, during which Freeman signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gottleib took to Twitter to share his statement.

On June 29, Gottleib tweeted a claim that Freeman’s agent, Casey Close, “never told Freddie Freeman about the Braves final offer, that is why Freeman fired him. He found out in Atlanta this weekend. It isn’t that rare to have happen in MLB, but it happened- Close knew Freddie would have taken the ATL deal.”

That post is no longer available on Gottleib’s twitter account.

Shortly after Gottleib’s statement in June, Close and his business, Excel Sports Management, filed a defamation by libel suit against Doug Gottleib. In the suit, Close claims that Gottleib “falsely and recklessly publicized” his aforementioned claim on Twitter, “thereby injuring Plaintiff’s names, businesses and reputations.”

However, since Gottlieb published the retraction, Close released the following statement:

“From the onset, we were clear that Mr. Gottlieb’s tweet was wholly inaccurate and that we would seek legal remedies to set the record straight. He has retracted his statement in its entirety and acknowledged that he got the story wrong. We consider this matter closed.”

Freeman spent the first 12 seasons of his professional career with the Braves, winning a National League MVP in 2020 and a World Series Championship in 2021.

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