Thom Brennaman, the longtime announcer for the Cincinnati Reds, was pulled off the air Wednesday night after being caught on a hot mic uttering a homophobic slur earlier in the day during a doubleheader with the Kansas City Royals.
Brennaman, who didn’t realize the telecast was back from commercial break, was caught saying, “one of the f** capitals of the world” during the pre-game broadcast. It was unclear what exactly he was referring to when he made the comment.
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Brennaman later issued an apology during the live broadcast of the second game of the doubleheader.
“I made a comment earlier tonight that I guess went out over the air that I am deeply ashamed of. If I’ve 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,” Brennaman said. “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’s going to be for the Reds. I don’t know if it’s going to be for my bosses at FOX. I apologize for the people who sign my paycheck for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, and for the people I work with, and anybody I’ve offended here tonight.
Brennaman added: “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 maybe I can have some people that can back that up. I am very, very sorry. And I beg for your forgiveness.”
After his final words, Brennaman signed off and Jim Day resumed the live broadcast.
Major League Baseball was aware of the incident but did not have an immediate comment, according to the Associated Press. The Reds did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reds reliever Amir Garrett tweeted about Brennaman’s words shortly after the end of the second game: “To the LGBTQ community just know I am with you, and whoever is against you, is against me,” he wrote. “I’m sorry for what was said today.”
Brennaman did national games for Major League Baseball on FOX from 1996 to 2014, and he’s also done play-by-play for the NFL on FOX. He’s been with Fox Sports for over 25 years, and he’s currently in his 13th year doing TV and radio for the Reds. He recently returned to the Reds full-time in 2019.
Brennaman’s father, Marty Brennaman, was a legendary Reds announcer from 1974 until 2019.
