YES Network refutes rumors that Yankees legend Paul O’Neill has cancer – The New York Times

MLB
Social media posts claimed that Paul O'Neill faced the "toughest battle of his life." Elsa / Getty Images
New York Yankees legend Paul O’Neill does not have cancer, the YES Network announced on Wednesday, refuting several widely circulated posts on social media claiming that the 62-year-old had fallen ill.
“There are some fake Facebook posts (and who knows what else) circulating, stating that Paul O’Neill has cancer,” YES Network spokesman Eric Handler wrote in an email to news outlets. “I just spoke with Paul. He DOES NOT have cancer!”
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One post published to Facebook on Tuesday morning claimed that the five-time World Series winner and current YES Network analyst was facing the “toughest battle of his life, facing cancer.” The post, which included a fake quote from O’Neill, had generated 5,600 “likes” and 1,800 comments as of early Wednesday afternoon.
The post included a link to a website that included fabricated quotes attributed to general manager Brian Cashman and former Yankees manager Joe Torre.
Another post claiming O’Neill had cancer, also posted Tuesday morning, had generated nearly 1,000 likes upon publication on this story.
One of the Facebook pages that posted the fake O’Neill cancer claim was filled with phony posts about Yankees players. One post from Wednesday morning falsely purported that Aaron Judge had recently donated “10,000 free meals to the homeless.” Another falsely said that manager Aaron Boone had “revealed the truth behind the sudden panic over Aaron Judge.”
O’Neill played 17 major-league seasons, including nine with the Yankees and eight with the Cincinnati Reds. He was a five-time All-Star, and he retired in 2001. A longtime fan-favorite for his intensity on the field, he’s been a YES Network broadcaster for more than two decades.
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Brendan Kuty is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees and MLB. He has covered the Yankees since 2014, most recently as a beat reporter for NJ Advance Media. Brendan was honored to receive the 2022 New Jersey Sportswriter of the Year award from the National Sports Media Association. He attended William Paterson University and the County College of Morris, and he is from Hopatcong, N.J.

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