Baseball announcer out after saying fag on hot mic

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A day after being pulled from a Cincinnati Reds broadcast, Thom Brennaman lost his NFL job.

Fox Sports announced on Thursday that the veteran broadcaster won’t call NFL games moving forward after he uttered an anti-gay slur on air during a break in Wednesday’s Reds game vs. the Kansas City Royals.

“Fox Sports is extremely disappointed with Thom Brennaman’s remarks during Wednesday’s Cincinnati Reds telecast,” a network statement reads. “The language used was abhorrent, unacceptable, and not representative of the values of Fox Sports. As it relates to Brennaman’s Fox NFL role, we are moving forward with our NFL schedule which will not include him.”


Brennaman’s hot-mic moment
A microphone on Wednesday’s Reds broadcast caught Brennaman saying “the f-- capital of the world” in between innings of a Fox Sports Ohio production. The incident occurred before the seventh inning of the first game of a doubleheader.

Brennaman continued to call the game before eventually issuing an on-air apology during the second game as news of the slur gained traction on social media. He signed off after his fifth-inning apology.

‘I am deeply ashamed’
“I made a comment earlier tonight, that I guess went out over the air, that I am deeply ashamed of. If I have hurt anyone out there, I can’t tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart that I’m so very, very sorry,” Brennaman said.

“I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith, as there is a drive into deep left field by Castellanos. It will be a home run, and so that will make it a 4-0 ballgame. I don’t know if I’m going to be putting on this headset again. I don’t know if it’s going to be for the Reds, I don’t know if it’s going to be for my bosses at Fox. I want to apologize to the people who sign my paycheck, for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anybody that I’ve offended here tonight.

“I can’t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That is not who I am and it never has been. I’d like to think maybe I could have some people that can back that up. I am very, very sorry, and I beg for your forgiveness.”

He could have argued that the "fag" reference was to the large stick or baseball bat a player was swinging.Which is what fag means,a "stick" or fagot "bundle or collection of sticks".

I don't know why America developed this word as a slur for gay men,I couldn't imagine the etymology of that.In Italy fagotti means the musical instrument the "bassoon" because it looks like a large stick.In any case it's doubtful this announcer had good intentions though,there's a career down the drain.

He owned it as he used it as slur.  Here in the UK a fag is a cigarette; and, in public schools, a fag is someone who gets younger pupils to do things for them.  A fa***t is a also type of meatball.  Obviously it is also used as a slur.

He owned it as he used it as slur.

Here in the UK a fag is a cigarette and in public schools a fag is someone who gets younger pupils to do things for them. A fa***t is a also type of meatball.

Obviously it is also used as a slur

Makes me think he's gay.

Since it's on his mind.

The NHL bubble may keep its players safe from COVID-19, but not its fans from Mike Milbury’s “insensitive and insulting” commentary.

The NBC Sports analyst came under fire Thursday night, while calling the Islanders and Capitals game, for suggesting that women were a distraction to NHL players.

“If you think about it, [the bubble is] a terrific environment with regard to — if you enjoy playing and enjoy being with your teammates for long periods of time, it’s a perfect place,” play-by-play man John Forslund said.

“Not even any women here to disrupt your concentration,” Milbury replied.

The NHL issued a statement Friday condemning Milbury’s remark.

“The National Hockey League condemns the insensitive and insulting comment that Mike Milbury made during last night’s broadcast and we have communicated our feelings to NBC,” the league said. “The comment did not reflect the NHL’s values and commitment to making our game more inclusive and welcoming to all.

NBC Sports said it was “disappointed about Mike’s insensitive comment and have addressed it with him.” Milbury also issued an apology Friday.

“I sincerely apologize for making the comment. It was not my intention to disrespect anyone,” he said in a statement. “I was trying to be irreverent and took it a step too far. It was a regrettable mistake that I take seriously.”

It’s not the first time the former Islanders coach has been called out for his commentary in the bubble, though. Last week, he questioned Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask’s decision to leave the bubble for family reasons. It has since been reported there was a family emergency.

“Nobody has simply opted to leave the bubble just because they didn’t want to be here and they needed to be with their family,” Milbury said at the time. “I would not have done it, the rest of the league’s players have not done it.”

Well the article and video doesn't even say what he was talking about. All they say is "the f-- capital of the world", what ever that means. It's as if they are trying to hide what he said and are trying to spin it into something else, but maybe I'm wrong?

He could have argued that the "fag" reference was to the large stick or baseball bat a player was swinging.Which is what fag means,a "stick" or fagot "bundle or collection of sticks".

I don't know why America developed this word as a slur for gay men,I couldn't imagine the etymology of that.In Italy fagotti means the musical instrument the "bassoon" because it looks like a large stick.In any case it's doubtful this announcer had good intentions though,there's a career down the drain.

Oh okay. Well as far as the San Francisco comment goes, was SF playing in that game? Sorry I don't follow baseball at all.

He was of course commenting on Kansas City enormous cigarette industry.