Celebrities are people, too.
That’s what Wall Street Journal baseball writer Daniel Barbarisi learned when he got a rare glimpse into the personal life of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Ahead of Jeter’s final game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, Barbarisi shared the story of riding in an elevator with the retiring star’s girlfriend, model Hannah Davis, during spring training in 2013. Upon leaving the elevator, Barbarisi did what most of us would do: He tweeted about it.
“Realizing you’re in the elevator w/ one of Jeter’s famous girlfriends is annual spring training ritual. Today, checked Hannah Davis off the list!”
The tweet seemed innocent enough, but it quickly made its way back to Jeter, who was not pleased. Here’s how Barbarisi described their exchange:
“I was just trying to get a laugh, I told him. No harm done? I mean, hey, it’s pretty cool that you bring all these famous, beautiful girlfriends for sportswriters to gawk at in the elevators. It’s a compliment!
“He didn’t see it that way. ‘I didn’t appreciate that,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think it was appropriate.’
“We went back and forth for a little bit. Then he got to the crux of it.
“‘What was she supposed to think when she saw that,’ he asked.”
Lesson learned. Barbarisi apologized and left the situation with a new perspective on the athletes he covers.
“I imagine if we could really see in,” he wrote, “what we’d find is pretty much what I glimpsed: yeah, he’s Derek Jeter, but he still has to worry about what his girlfriend thinks — just like everybody else.”
Photo via Twitter/@PageSix
