Boston Media is Slipping

Interesting situation took place yesterday in which Boston sports media missed an important clue or decided to look the other way. The story in the Boston Globe discussed what was holding up the official signing of J.D. Drew to the Boston Red Sox. The article noted:

"Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein had no comment yesterday on the matter, and Boras said he was restrained by HIPAA regulations from responding to questions, including whether Drew had gone to see a doctor for a second opinion."

Really? Boras was restrained? When did Boras become a doctor? I received an interesting blurb from my dad who is definitely up to date on HIPAA regulations:

"This is a particularly clever distortion. HIPAA is a federal law designed to protect privacy by banning hospitals and doctors from releasing medical information without the patient’s permission. As long as Drew agrees, Boras can answer any question he wants to about Drew’s shoulder. What he's really saying is 'no comment,' but doing it in a creative way. Because a sports writer probably isn’t acquainted with the specifics of HIPAA, he got away with it."

That's why, as an agent, Boras handles media relations for his clients as well. Smart way to handle the media. Gordon Edes, who wrote the story, is usually on the ball so something may be going on behind the scenes.