Daniel Murphy of the Mets missed Opening Day earlier this week to be with his wife, who was going into labor, and he’ll be away from the team for a couple of days. That may seem reasonable to many people, but not to some Mets fans, and definitely not to Mike Francesa. On his WFAN radio show yesterday, Francesa devoted more than 20 minutes to railing against paternity leave. He even took calls on the topic.
You can listen to the whole thing below, but choice quotes include:
• “I don’t know why you need three days off. I’m gonna be honest. You see the birth and you get back. What are you doing the first couple of days? Maybe you take care of the other kids? You gotta have someone do that if you’re a Major League Baseball player. I’m sorry, you do. Because your wife doesn’t need your help the first couple of days. You know that. You’re not doing much those first couple of days with the baby that was just born.”
• “Harrison was born at 9 in the morning, and I worked that day. Had the baby at 9, came in and worked at 1. I didn’t have anything to do. I’m being honest. What was I gonna do? Sit in the room with my wife at the hospital?”
• On the WFAN policy that allows for ten days of paternity leave: “That’s ridiculous. What do you need ten days for? What are you supposed to be doing? Vacationing? What the heck do you need ten days for?”
• “You’re a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help.”
