Jason Getz-Imagn Images
Pro athletes can usually expect a camera to focus on them if they go down with an injury during a game. That was also the case for a member of the grounds crew for the Tigers who suffered a setback while raking the infield, and it made it clear he wasn’t happy about getting the same treatment by whipping out his middle finger.
The people responsible for orchestrating broadcasts of sporting events are tasked with providing viewers with as much information as possible when it comes to what unfolds during them, and that includes keeping tabs on any injuries that occur during a game.
There’s an unwritten rule that networks won’t show replays of particularly gruesome injuries, but it’s only natural that they’ll turn their attention to a player who goes down when the setback is severe enough to hold up play.
They won’t always linger on the person who’s injured—most NFL fans are familiar with the “sad music” that preempts a transition to a commercial break if it’s clear someone is going to be attended to for a few minutes—but you can usually expect to end up in the spolight if you’re responsible for a delay.
That was the case with a grounds crew worker for the Tigers who was at Comerica Park for Detroit’s matinee with the Giants on Wednesday and was raking the infield during the seventh-inning stretch when he suffered an injury that led to him sitting down on the dirt near first base.
The NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast understandably honed in on him while he was being treated by the trainers who came out to treat him, but he made it very clear he was not thrilled about being filmed by flipping one of their cameras the bird before the network switched to a different angle.
A member of the Comerica Park grounds crew was hurt between innings.
While on the ground, he flipped off the cameras. pic.twitter.com/jZktvlHsiI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 28, 2025
Someone claiming to be the man’s boyfriend said he dislocated his knee in a TikTok comment that has since been deleted, and she added she doesn’t believe he’ll be facing any discipline from the Tigers for the profane gesture that was broadcast to the masses.