When Buster Posey addressed Scott Cousins death threats after horrible collision ended Giants ace’s season

In 2011, Buster Posey spoke up about Scott Cousins receiving death threats after a horrible on-field clash between the two at home plate on May 25 of that year.

Following the incident, Giants pitcher Posey had to release a statement condemning the threats posed to Cousins following the event.

"I appreciate the continued support of Giants fans...but in no way do I condone threats of any kind against Scott Cousins or his family." - Buster Posey said in an interview with NBC Miami.

After Posey's injury, Giants former general manager Brian Sabean made superfluous comments about the incident which worsened things. Sabean used the terms "malicious" and "premeditated" to describe the incident and blamed Cousins for inflicting season-ending injuries on Posey.

The following day, the Giants had to publish a press release establishing that the comments were not meant to defame Scott Cousins but were merely a by-product of frustration.

The Giants' press release said:

"Brian Sabean’s comments yesterday were said out of frustration and out of true concern for Buster and were not meant to vilify Scott Cousins."

Despite the press release, the Giants never really apologized to Scott Cousins, nor did they use the word "sorry" to signify their guilt for accidentally defaming Cousins. Even Posey's statement had no tone of apology in it.

The Giants released their statement only after Cousins' teammate Logan Morrison spoke up against Sabean.

“[Cousins is] getting death threats from people. This is his hometown, San Francisco. He’s worried about his family and his friends that are there," Morrison said. "And now [Sabean] is going to make comments like that? It’s ignorant, it’s inappropriate and he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about."

Following the incident, Cousins sent out a two-page handwritten apology note to Posey:

“This situation is still an open wound for many, including myself. As I have stated previously, nobody outside of Buster feels worse about his injury than I do.”

"May 5th, 2011 Marlins Scott Cousins ends Buster Posey's season on home plate collision." - a fan wrote on Twitter.

Buster Posey's MLB Career post injury

Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants hits the game winning hit in the bottom of the 13th inning to beat the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park on July 11, 2018 in San Francisco, California.

Despite the injury, Posey had a 12-year career in the MLB. He won three World Series with the team: in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In 2016, he a secured the Gold Glove Award.

In 2019, the Johnny Bench Award was renamed the Buster Posey Award. He was also the NL MVP in 2021.

In September 2022, Posey joined the San Francisco Giants ownership group and is currently working toward building up the future of the team.

"Tremendous honor to be recognized with the Gold Glove Award! #rawlings" - Buster Posey posted on his Instagram account on Nov. 10, 2016.