Nationals broadcaster F.P. Santangelo accused of sexual assault, pulled from games
Washington National broadcaster F.P. Santangelo has been accused of sexual misconduct, according to The Athletic, and was pulled from the team's game against the New York Yankees on Saturday.
That marked the fourth time in eight days that Santangelo, 53, has been pulled from a broadcast.
Santangelo, who is a Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) employee, has denied the allegations.
Nationals broadcaster accused of sexual misconduct
A 31-year-old woman told The Athletic that Santangelo made unwanted advances and sexually assaulted her several years ago, all while ignoring her repeatedly telling him to stop.
The woman, who spoke to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity, first accused Santangelo in an anonymous Instagram post — which the Nationals and MASN saw. She then detailed the encounter to The Athletic.
The woman said that Santangelo sent her “angry text messages” and even blocked her on all social media after their one in-person interaction. She said she is not seeking a formal complaint or any compensation. She is not an employee of the Nationals, MASN or the Baltimore Orioles — which holds the majority ownership of the network.
“If I never saw him again, I’d be perfectly happy,” she said, via The Athletic. “But he’s well known and it is bothersome to see someone in his private life not be respectful of people. I don’t have any motives behind this other than I wanted to avoid this happening to other women.”
Santangelo has worked as the Nationals’ color commentator since 2011. He was hired by MASN, but the team approves those hires. He was taken off the air last weekend for the Nationals’ series against Miami, a move that was reportedly unplanned. He then was pulled at the last minute from Thursday’s game against the Braves. Santangelo did call Friday’s game against the Yankees, however, and worked Wednesday’s game too.
It’s unclear why he was allowed to work some games and not others. According to The Athletic, Santangelo was pulled from the games due to the allegations.
Santangelo spent seven seasons in Major League Baseball himself from 1995-2001, and appeared in more than 650 games for the Expos, Giants, Dodgers and Athletics.
He denied the allegations on Saturday afternoon after The Athletic’s story was first published.
“What I have read in your recently published article from an anonymous individual about me is untrue and did not happen,” he texted The Athletic. “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.”
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