Brandon Phillips made headlines back in August for calling a local beat reporter a “fat mother******" (among other things) and now he’s decided to simply stop talking to the media altogether.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Phillips “refused to speak to the media on the day position players reported to camp” and issued a statement through a team spokesperson saying simply “I’m just here to play.”
In addition to the August squabble with a specific reporter--which took place in then-manager Dusty Baker’s office--Fay notes that Phillips was also upset with the media earlier this offseason when trade rumors were circulating.
Generally the whole “not talking to the media” thing never goes particularly well for the player, although I suppose if Phillips can recover from angrily berating someone in his manager’s office anything is possible.