Thom Brennaman, who has been an announcer for Major League Baseball games for more than 30 years, was suspended after using a homophobic slur on air.
What We Know:
- On August 19th, during the live broadcast of a Cincinnati Reds doubleheader, Brennaman said “one of the f*g capitals of the world”.
- Brennaman apologized before being pulled off the air and suspended from announcing Reds games. “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 am very, very sorry.”
- The comment upset fans and members of the LGBTQ community such as Chris Seelbach, the first openly gay member of the Cincinnati City Council. He posted a tweet about Brennaman’s remark.
The Brennaman family are Cincinnati sports icons with a powerful voice in our community, which makes it even more disgusting and totally unprofessional to hear such language used. The Reds have been proud supporters of their LGBTQ+ fans, and this language cannot be tolerated.
— Chris Seelbach (@ChrisSeelbach) August 20, 2020
- The Reds and FOX released statements regarding Brennaman’s comment. “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. We will be addressing our broadcasting team in the coming days.”
The network said the announcer’s remarks were “abhorrent, unacceptable, and not representative of the values of FOX sports”. They have also decided not to use Brennaman to cover NFL games this upcoming season.
