Jul
16
Damn Yankees: How ESPN Got Ben Affleck to Pay Tribute to Derek Jeter
Posted in: Uncategorized
When you’re brought up in Boston, you learn to hate the New York Yankees in the cradle. So jaws hit the floor from Charlestown to Southie when actor Ben Affleck, a rabid Red Sox fan, presented Yankee great Derek Jeter with the Icon Award during the 2015 ESPYs.
Mr. Affleck’s Yankee-loathing is so profound that he outright refused to wear a Yankee hat in a pivotal scene in the 2014 film “Gone Girl.” So how exactly did ESPN manage to convince him to pay tribute to the man who for 20 years was the face of the Evil Empire?
As it turns out, Mr. Affleck was the first person ESPN approached to present the award to the future first-ballot Hall of Famer. And such is his admiration for Mr. Jeter that he all but jumped at the idea.
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