Is it ever okay to lie to the media? Nope. It’s never a good look, especially when the truth inevitably comes out. Case in point is New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor’s explanation of why many of his teammates suddenly ran into the tunnel between the dugout and the locker room during a game. After the game, Lindor claimed to a skeptical media that a rat or a raccoon in the tunnel caused the disturbance. Here’s part of Lindor’s statement:

Actually, as the media later learned, there was no rat or raccoon. Instead, Lindor was trying to cover-up an altercation between himself and a teammate. He might have thought the phony story was funny, but he struck out with irritated reporters. If Lindor didn’t want to talk about the incident, he could have simply told reporters he wasn’t going to discuss it. They wouldn’t have liked that answer, but it would have been better than Lindor’s whopper.