Aaron Boone Upset with Yankees' Schedule, Team Reportedly Threatens ESPN Boycott

The New York Yankees are not pleased with ESPN.

The Worldwide Leader chose to put the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball on July 8, in essence re-scheduling a game against the Toronto Blue Jays that was initially set for 1 p.m. ET. The issue the Yankees have raised is that the team has a doubleheader in Baltimore the next day starting at 5 p.m. ET.

"Hopefully there is some pressure being applied because that is not good for the product on the field or the safety of our guys, having [to] go from [a] night game, flight and right into a doubleheader," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Jimmy Traina of SI.com.  "Anybody who would argue with that is not being truthful."

The Yankees are so incensed by the change, in fact, that they are reportedly threatening to "boycott" ESPN for the remainder of the season, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post:

"While the Yankees couldn’t prevent ESPN from broadcasting future games, the players' and management's boycott would include being uncooperative with ESPN for its broadcasts and any extra features, like the ones commonly seen on 'SportsCenter.' For 'Sunday Night,' the ESPN booth team receives a special session with Boone during the pregame, as well as in-game access. ESPN often asks for TV interviews with players prior to the game and special access. The Yankees would just say no to all requests, a source said, if the July 8 game remains on the 'Sunday Night' schedule."

According to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, ESPN has said that they scheduled the July 8 game between the Yankees and Blue Jays for Sunday Night Baseball in December and did so because "their lead-up to the game is the All-Star voting announcement and they figured the Yankees’ presence in the Sunday night game would pull additional viewers for the All-Star show."

A Yankees source told Madden that reasoning for having the Yankees play Sunday night was "ridiculous," while another Yankees source added, "This is an integrity issue, plain and simple."

According to Marchand, the Yankees, ESPN, MLB and the MLBPA have remained in discussions regarding the dispute. If it isn't resolved and the Yankees remain on the Sunday night broadcast July 8, the organization could have quite the frosty relationship with ESPN for the remainder of the season.