Tommy Pham Says He’s Been Suspended After Slapping Joc Pederson

The Reds outfielder will miss the rest of the series vs. the Giants.

On Friday night, Reds outfielder Tommy Pham slapped Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over a fantasy football argument, and that is going to cost him. Pham told media before Saturday’s game that he and MLB agreed to a three-game suspension as a punishment.

A video released showing the pregame altercation between Tommy Pham and Joc Pederson 🫢

(via @mccormack_chad)pic.twitter.com/XyFP3yVcYO

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 28, 2022

Since Pham didn’t play in Friday’s game, that game will count as part of the punishment, so he just needs to sit out the final two games vs. San Francisco.

Pederson explained the fantasy football dispute revolves around whether or not he properly put Jeff Wilson on Injured Reserve during one week. As for why he did what he did, Pham said the amount of money on the line was too great for him to let this go.

“He was messing with my money,” Pham said, via Evan Webeck of the Mercury News. “I’m a big dog in Vegas. I’m a high roller at many casinos.”

However, Pham added that there is more to this story. The Reds outfielder revealed that Pederson said something “disrespectful” about the Padres in a text, something that didn’t sit well with him.

“I slapped Joc. He said some s--- I don’t condone. I had to address it,” Pham said.

This isn’t the first time this year that Pham has gotten into a conflict with an opposing team. Last month, he went after Padres designated hitter Luke Voit for what he believed to be a dirty slide on catcher Tyler Stephenson.

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