Jung Ho Kang's work visa denied, future with Pirates in jeopardy




... no comment yet from Pirates 

According to Korean media, the application of Pirate infielder Jung Ho Kang for a work visa to return to the United States has been denied.

Kang was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in a South Korean court for an offense that took place in Sept. He was sentenced to eight months in jail, but that was suspended.

Still, that is his third DUI, and according to US immigration regulations, which have been made stricter by Donald Trump, he would not qualify for a visa.

That would be a serious blow to the Pirates, who were hoping to see him return at some point this year.

According to the Tribune-Review, Naver Sports reported that the Visa had not been approved.

Kang has appealed his sentence, but even if he would win that, it is unlikely to change the fact that he was convicted of a DUI for the third time.

Prior to today's announcement, Manager Clint Hurdle was asked about Kang's status, and he was philosophical about it. “We are staying in contact with Jung Ho and in contract with his interpreter. We're focusing on the men we have here. That's the best I can tell you. We'd love to have him back (but) we don't have him back. We're going to adapt and continue to pull … (and see) if this can come to some type of conclusion that's profitable for both sides down the road.”

The Pirates have not yet commented on the situation.

The South Korea report also indicated that it is suspect by authorities that Kang had a DUI in another country other than Korea or the U.S.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-po...
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably,...
Read more

Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

Image
Brian Flores … hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black.  Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.” That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings.  The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test.  After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig.  Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position.  Which begs the q...
Read more