Boomer Esiason Just Put New Mets Owner Steve Cohen on Notice in a Major Way
The next professional boxing match in New York should add former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen as an undercard.
Esiason, who now hosts a radio show on WFAN in New York and is an analyst for CBS Sports, recently had very strong words for Cohen. The new Mets owner found himself in hot water after getting involved in the GameStop stock controversy.
After Barstool Sports star Dave Portnoy waged a social media war with Cohen, Esiason took his spot in the ring and sent a very stern message to the hedge fund billionaire.
Boomer Esiason is a beloved New York sports figure
Considering that Boomer Esiason played most of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, some might be surprised by how beloved the former quarterback is in New York.
Esiason played for the Jets from 1993-95, completing 58.7% of his passes for 49 touchdowns and 39 interceptions in 43 games and 42 starts.
A popular analyst on The NFL Today, Esiason started a new life for himself in the spring of 2007. Esiason and Craig Carton, a veteran radio host, formed the Boomer and Carton on WFAN in New York.
The program, which aired from 6-10 a.m., became one of the nation’s top sports talk radio shows. WFAN officially replaced Carton, who resigned in September 2017 after an arrest for his role in a ticket reselling scheme, with Gregg Giannotti in January 2018.
Carton served a year in prison on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit both acts. He returned to WFAN in the fall of 2020 and now hosts an afternoon show with Evan Roberts.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has been involved in a recent controversy
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has seemingly gone from king of the hill to the bottom of the heap.
Cohen, a hedge fund kingpin who bought the Mets last year, used his frequent Twitter activity to become extremely popular with fans. That all changed earlier this week when the GameStop stock crisis occurred.
According to the New York Post, Cohen invested in Melvin Capital, a fund which “became the first high-profile victim of the social media-fueled market revolt against hedge funds who make billions by shorting stocks.”
Cohen and Ken Griffin, another hedge fund figure, bailed Melvin Capital out with a $2.75 billion cash infusion. The Post described Gabe Plotkin, the CIO and founder of Melvin Capital Management, as Cohen’s protege.
Cohen created further controversy when he and Barstool Sports star Dave Portnoy feuded on Twitter. Portnoy criticized Cohen for involving himself and bailing out Melvin Capital.
Cohen suggested he and Portnoy talk privately, an idea which Portnoy dismissed in a follow-up tweet.
“I don’t do offline. That’s where shady s— happens. You bailed out Melvin cause he’s you’re [sic] boy along with Citadel. I think you had strong hand in todays [sic] criminal events to save hedge funds at the cost of ordinary people. Do you unequivocally deny that?”
Cohen denied the allegations in now-deleted tweets.
Boomer Esiason sent Steve Cohen a massive warning
Boomer Esiason shouldn’t expect to find himself in Steve Cohen’s luxury box when the New York Mets open play this spring.
On the January 29 episode of Boomer & Gio, Esiason ripped Cohen for the tone he used on social media. Esiason chastised Cohen for telling Dave Portnoy, “I’m just trying to make a living just like you.”
“Just keep your mouth shut,” Esiason said.
Esiason then addressed another tweet from Cohen, where the Mets owner invoked the term “stock jockeys.”
“He’s discounting the Reddit, [WallStreetBets] people as ‘stock jockeys’ and taking shots at them like he knows what’s going on because he’s sitting in this hedge fund king chair making all these decisions, and I hate that. … I swear to God, I’m not gonna go to another Mets game until I know what’s going on here.”
Esiason said Cohen’s handling of the situation “makes me sick to my stomach.”
However, it may be some time before Cohen uses social media to react to Esiason’s commentary. As of publication, Cohen had deleted his verified Twitter account.
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