How can The Sun dare to hold O’s ownership accountable? How can we not? | COMMENTARY

Try getting in a shouting match with Baltimore Colts’ owner Bob Irsay as he blatantly lied about his plans to move the NFL franchise out of Charm City three decades ago. Was The Sun wrong to challenge his false narrative? We mention this because, somewhat to our surprise, John Angelos, chairman and CEO of the Baltimore Orioles, announced recently that he will not be...

Journalism is not a profession given to pleasing the rich and powerful on a regular basis. One certainty of the trade — at least if you are doing it correctly — is that not everyone appreciates seeing the truth about themselves in print for all the world to read (or at least the Baltimore metropolitan area). In its nearly two centuries of following the promise of “Light For All,” The Baltimore Sun’s reporters, photographers, editors and others have received their share of bluster, threats and legal filings thrown at them from influential politicians, public figures, business people and, yes, even the owners of sports franchises inconvenienced by objective reality.

You think your job has its annoyances? Try getting in a shouting match with Baltimore Colts’ owner Bob Irsay as he blatantly lied about his plans to move the NFL franchise out of Charm City three decades ago. Was The Sun wrong to challenge his false narrative? To press for answers? To look out for the interests of all those football fans who had followed the Colts, bought season tickets, worn the team’s gear and stood by it through thick and thin? Of course not. That’s our job.

We mention this because, somewhat to our surprise, John Angelos, chairman and CEO of the Baltimore Orioles, announced recently that he will not be sharing financial information about the baseball team — or “opening the books” as its commonly known — despite previously promising to do so. And in an interview on a local radio station, he offered some choice words for how The Sun’s Nathan Ruiz had pressed him on this issue. Specifically, he told listeners of 105.7 The Fan that The Sun’s New York-based owners should open their books first, and he questioned their ties to the city.

“It’s difficult for me to understand what that fascination is … I don’t know that I need to be answering those kinds of questions from The Sun,” he said, claiming also that he was “as transparent as transparent gets.”

If the John Angelos of today has a problem with questions about the team’s books, perhaps he could hop in a “Back to the Future” DeLorean and travel back in time to tell the John Angelos of January and February not to repeatedly volunteer — unsolicited, no less — to open them. Time travel may violate the laws of nature, but it still might be easier than getting the Orioles CEO to admit he’s backing down. Once again, when the message isn’t welcome, it’s time to shoot the messenger. Tell us something we haven’t heard before.

But here’s where it gets extra troubling. The Orioles aren’t just any business. As Angelos noted on the radio, they are an important asset for the city, attracting millions of fans who spend a lot of money to enjoy baseball and perhaps a night on the town. (And, as an aside, most of us O’s followers are quite happy with the team’s progress on the field and look forward to the home opener against the New York Yankees on Thursday.) But the bottom line is the Orioles are also a publicly subsidized operation. The Maryland Stadium Authority is expected to borrow up to $600 million to upgrade 31-year-old Oriole Park at Camden Yards — that’s substantially more public funding than most communities have lavished on renovating an existing sports stadium. The taxpayers have an interest here. And did we mention that the Orioles haven’t signed a new lease? Seems like reporters should be asking more questions, not fewer, about the preferred financial treatment given pro sports teams.

We can understand why the son of Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos, whose ailing health has led to many headlines about family squabbling over financial matters that are surely uncomfortable to read, might be sore at The Sun for doing its duty. It’s tough to be put in the spotlight.

And far be it from the editorial board of the local newspaper to tell him how to run his business. We’ll leave that (mostly) to the sports department. But we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the Orioles sign catcher Adley “5 for 5″ Rutschman to a long-term contract with some of that undisclosed largesse. Unlike ownership, there’s a guy who can handle a fastball.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.

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