(Above screenshot via YouTube)
Longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman has been suspended indefinitely after using an anti-gay slur live on air Aug. 19.
Brennaman used the slur as a baseball game featuring the Reds against the Kansas City Royals was returning from a commercial break.
In the clip below, Brennaman is heard calling Kansas City “one of the fag capitals of the world.” The clip picks back up with Brennaman apologizing live on air for the comment.
“I made a comment earlier tonight that I guess went out over the air that I am deeply ashamed of,” he said. “If I have hurt anyone out there I can’t tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart I’m so very, very sorry. I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith.”
Brennaman then took a break from his apology to call a home run by Reds rightfielder Nick Castellanos.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna be putting on this headset again,” he continued. “I want to apologize for the people who sign my paycheck, for the Reds, for FOX Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anybody I’ve offended here tonight. I can’t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That is not who I am and never has been. And 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.”
Brennaman then turned the remainder of the broadcast over to play-by-play man Jim Day.
The Reds issued an official statement later that night condemning Brennaman’s remarks.
“The Cincinnati Reds organization is devastated by the horrific, homophobic remark made this evening by broadcaster Thom Brennaman. He was pulled off the air, and effective immediately was suspended from doing Reds broadcasts,” the statement reads. “We will be addressing our broadcasting team in the coming days. In no way does the incident represent our players, coaches, organization, or our fans. We share our sincerest apologies to the LGBTQ+ community in Cincinnati, Kansas City, all across this country, and beyond. The Reds embrace a zero-tolerance policy for bias or discrimination of any kind, and we are truly sorry to anyone who has been offended.”
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 20, 2020
Brennaman has been a broadcaster for 33 years, the last 27 with FOX Sports.
