UPDATED, 4.45pm: Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman has stopped working on Reds and Fox’s NFL broadcasts. The penalties come amid a scream over an anti-gay slur he turned on an open mic during his call of a Reds game on Wednesday night.
Brennaman sent a letter to the editor The Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday apologized for his slur:
‘Like many of you knew, I said something hateful on Wednesday night, something no one should say. Something no one should think. Something that no one should feel. Something no one should hear.
‘I could try to explain it or tell you about who I am and what I believe, but those things would all be excuses. The simple fact is that what I said was wrong.
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‘I used a word insulting and insulting. In the past 24 hours I have been reading about his history; I had no idea it was so rooted in hatred and violence and I was especially ashamed that I, someone who makes his life by using words, could be so insecure and infinite. It’s a word that should have no place in my vocabulary and I will certainly never utter it again.
‘I can not erase what I did. The only thing I can do is humbly apologize, accept the consequences of my actions and resolve to be better and behave differently from now on.
“To the LGBTQ + community – I really and deeply regret it. You would never be denigrated with crude and hateful language. I failed you, and I can not say enough how sorry I am. ”
Fox Sports Ohio also released this statement last Wednesday:
“The language that Thom Brennaman used this evening is hateful, offensive and in no way reflects the values of Fox Sports Ohio. We agree with the Reds’ decision to suspend him until further notice.
“Fox Sports is extremely disappointed with Thom Brennaman’s remarks during the Cincinnati Reds television on Wednesday. The language used was appalling, unacceptable and not representative of the values of Fox Sports. Because it’s related to Brennaman’s Fox NFL role, we’re moving forward with our NFL schedule that does not /
Reds reliever Amir Garrett tweeted an address out for the LGBTQ community:
“For the LGBTQ community, I just know I’m with you, and whoever’s against you is against me. I’m sorry for what was said today, ‘Garrett wrote.
Cincinnati councilor Chris Seelbach, the city’s first openly gay councilor, wrote on Twitter that Brennaman is “anti-LGBTQ +.”
“The Brennaman family are Cincinnati sports icons with a powerful voice in our community, which makes it even more disgusting and completely unprofessional to hear such language used,” Seelbach wrote. “The Reds were ardent supporters of their LGBTQ + fans, and this language can not be tolerated. Period. “
UPDATED with comments from Reds: Longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was heard with an anti-gay slur on Wednesday during the broadcast of Cincinnati’s game against the Kansas City Royals and later in the game the air was pulled and hung by the organization.
Brennaman was picked up by a microphone after the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast returned from a commercial break before reaching the top of the seventh inning in the first game of a doubleheader. The 56-year-old Brennaman, a veteran play-by-play announcer, was apparently unaware he was on air. (Watch video of the moment below.)
He later left the broadcasting office during the doubleheader’s second match and begged for forgiveness after video of the incident went up on social media and reaction trended.
“I made a remark earlier in the evening that, I think, went up in the air, that I was deeply ashamed,” Brennaman said during the fifth inning. ‘If I hurt anyone, I can not tell you how much I said from the bottom of my heart, I’m so sorry, very sorry. I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith. … I do not know if I will put this headset back on. I do not know if it will be for the Reds, I do not know if it will be for my bosses at Fox, I want to apologize to the people who sign my salary – for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people with whom I’m working for everyone I met last night. I can not begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That’s not who I am, it never has been. I would think I have some people who can bake that. I’m very, very sorry and I beg for your forgiveness.
“Jim Day will take you the rest of the way,” Brennaman said, referring to another Fox Sports Ohio broadcaster.
The Reds said in a statement that they were “devastated by the horrific, homophobic remark” and that Brennaman was immediately effectively suspended. The team said it “will address our broadcasting team in the coming days.”
Brennaman has called up major league games for 33 years, 27 of them with Fox Sports. He is the son of Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman.
