Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman has been suspended from working the Major League Baseball team’s games after using an anti-gay slur on air Wednesday night, prompting the Reds to apologize for the “horrific, homophobic remark.”
Brennaman used the slur moments after the Fox Sports Ohio feed returned from a commercial break before the top of the seventh inning in the first game of a doubleheader hosted by the Kansas City Royals. Brennaman did not seem to realize he was already on air. He later apologized.
The Reds took the 56-year-old Brennaman off the telecast in the fifth inning of the second game.
“The Cincinnati Reds organization is devastated by the horrific, homophobic remark made this evening by broadcaster Thom Brennaman,” the team said in a released statement. “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.”
“In no way does this 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,” it said.