By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols banned a St. Louis television station from participating in a news conference yesterday at the conclusion of the team's winter warm-up.
Pujols was angry about his name being incorrectly linked to the Mitchell Report on steroids last month.
At the news conference, Pujols asked the Cardinals media relations director to kick out a crew from St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI Channel 2.
Last month, the station devoted heavy coverage to rumors linking Pujols and other players to the Mitchell Report.
The rumors started with an erroneous report from a New York TV station.
After the incident, news director Kingsley Smith told the Post-Dispatch the Fox brand allows "a little more latitude" to report a rumor in-depth.
Smith has since moved to another Fox affiliate. Channel 2's acting news director Audrey Prywitch had no comment.