Longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was heard using an anti-gay slur on Wednesday during the broadcast of Cincinnati’s game against the Kansas City Royals.
Brennaman was picked up by a microphone after the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast returned from a commercial break before the top of the seventh inning in the first game of a doubleheader. The 56-year-old Brennaman was seemingly not aware that he was on the air.
He later exited the broadcast booth during the second game of the doubleheader and begged for forgiveness after video of the incident went up on social media and reaction trended.
“I made a comment earlier tonight that, I guess, went out over the air, that I am deeply ashamed of,” Brennaman said during the fifth inning. “If I have hurt anyone out there, I can’t tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart, I am so very, very sorry. I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith. … I don’t know if I’ll be putting on this headset again. I don’t know if it’ll 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 that sign my paycheck — for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anybody I’ve offended tonight. I can’t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That is not who I am, it never has been. I’d like to think that I have some people that could back that up. I am 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.
It was unclear whether Brennaman was removed from the broadcast, or left on his own
Major League Baseball and the Reds have not yet commented.
Brennaman has called major league games for 33 years, 27 of the with Fox Sports. He is the son of Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman.