WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti defends John Sterling’s Yankees return after backlash

Gregg Giannotti has come to John Sterling’s defense.

Sterling, 86, will un-retire and return to the Yankees’ radio booth for the team’s 2024 postseason run, and his decision faced some detractors, including Mike Francesa and Chris Russo.

Giannotti, who co-hosts morning drive alongside Boomer Esiason on WFAN, the Yankees’ flagship network, disputed the idea that Sterling was unfairly costing rising broadcasters Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari with his decision.

“I thought it would happen. I wanted it to happen. It did and I think it’s the right thing to do and I think that anybody who criticizes it is off the mark..In the traditional sense of somebody retiring and then coming back when someone thinks that they have the job does not apply here,” Giannotti said, as covered by Barrett Media.

“This is different in the way that he left. It was a surprise. Nobody expected it when it happened, and the guys who have been calling the games, especially the younger kids and Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari, got an opportunity that fell into their laps…They got to call a ton of games.

“These guys got an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to call these games in the regular season and put that on their resume, something that would have never happened if John didn’t decide after starting this season to retire.”

Giannotti stressed that WFAN’s parent company, Audacy, called Sterling and asked if he’d like to return as opposed to the other way around.

“It’s not like John muscling his way back into the booth and swatting these guys away,” he said.

Francesa and Russo reunited on Thursday to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the start of their iconic program in WFAN afternoon drive.

Russo brought up Sterling and said that his return was “not the right thing to do.”

“You know what? Listen, I think John made a mistake coming back,” Francesa responded.

“I thought he had a very good exit. I thought he got treated very well. I think he’s making a mistake coming back, I really do.

“If I was gonna give him advice — he doesn’t need advice from me — but I would tell him [you’d] be making a mistake coming back. Plus, I don’t think it’s fair to the guys who have been doing the games!”