Thom Brennaman

[JimH5]

He was just pulled from the Reds broadcast after a live mic caught him making a homophobic slur about an undisclosed location.

 

Cincinnati is not known as the hotbed of progressivism, and he's the son of their broadcast legend, Marty Brennaman, so maybe he'll stick around on their local broadcasts. But I think his time as a national voice is over.

[JimH5]

And as fate would have it, Brennaman's on-air apology was interrupted by a Nick Castellanos homer into an area of the park labeled as the "Judgement-Free Zone".

 

It was nice to hear his weak apology have to take a pause for a poignant play-by-play call.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Yeah ... there's no way he's going to be allowed to announce another game. It's not even a matter of him making a mistake caught on a hot mike. The way he said what he said made it sound like that type of language is a regular part of his lexicon. He's done.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Wow. How is this still a thing people are doing on hot mics?? How dumb do you have to be to just.... not be a racist/bigot/whatever while at work?

 

As dumb as Thom Brenneman apparently.

[82brewcrew82]

I went to a Reds board to see what they were saying about this and the thread is just bonkers. Makes the high heat situation look like an episode of Mr. Rogers. It's turned to white power hour over there.

[SomewhereInTime]

I wonder which city he was referencing?

[SomewhereInTime]

Ok, that apology video is one of the more hilarious things I've ever seen. Greatest homerun call of 2020!

[JimH5]

Ok, that apology video is one of the more hilarious things I've ever seen. Greatest homerun call of 2020!

 

Yep. Watching him squirm, getting interrupted by the homer, him updating the game score and then returning to his apology. For fans of uncomfortable cringe, tonight was special.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Ok, that apology video is one of the more hilarious things I've ever seen. Greatest homerun call of 2020!

 

Yep. Watching him squirm, getting interrupted by the homer, him updating the game score and then returning to his apology. For fans of uncomfortable cringe, tonight was special.

 

 

Coming back on, apologizing, full well KNOWING he's gonna get fired, basically apologizing on behalf of the Reds and Fox, because he's currently employed and operating as a representative of their organizations, and just saying "my idiotic words are not representative of these organizations" had to be the most awful couple minutes of his life. That was hilarious and well-deserved.

[HiAndTight]

I wonder which city he was referencing?

 

 

Same here....but I feel like it'd be just as bad if I made a guess.

 

 

This really is just mind blowing. Not like he's new to this gig. And even if he was, not like he didn't grow up around it. How are you not more aware that the mic could be hot?

[HiAndTight]

And as fate would have it, Brennaman's on-air apology was interrupted by a Nick Castellanos homer into an area of the park labeled as the "Judgement-Free Zone".

 

It was nice to hear his weak apology have to take a pause for a poignant play-by-play call.

 

 

You're certainly not alone in saying it was a weak apology...but what would have been a strong one?

 

 

I actually thought...given what he said, his apology was a pretty solid one. Not that it'd change anything, but is there an apology you can make after that-that would be considered good?

[Oxy]

And as fate would have it, Brennaman's on-air apology was interrupted by a Nick Castellanos homer into an area of the park labeled as the "Judgement-Free Zone".

 

It was nice to hear his weak apology have to take a pause for a poignant play-by-play call.

 

 

You're certainly not alone in saying it was a weak apology...but what would have been a strong one?

 

 

I actually thought...given what he said, his apology was a pretty solid one. Not that it'd change anything, but is there an apology you can make after that-that would be considered good?

 

Well, if he brought his wife, children and boyfriend on camera for a live out-of-the-closet broadcast to celebrate his newfound freedom, all the while spewing prideful epithets from his dirty mouth about how he was now truly liberated for the first time in his life...jobless, family-less and still mostly rich...well...I'm not sure if that would be considered good, but would it be considered bad?

[AZBrewCrew]

It is 2020 after all...nothing shocks me at this point

[ecjimg]

Somebody said a naughty word. Big deal.

[Outlander]

Well if he said a 4 letter word live on air he would have been suspended and came back. A homophobic slur is worse and I can't see the Reds wanting to deal with the backlash by giving him another chance. No way the NFL allows him to call games this year or likely ever.

[PeaveyFury]

I guess the issue I have is with the ‘I apologize to anyone I may have offended’ apologizing. Just say you apologize for saying something bigoted and wrong, don’t qualify it with ‘if I may have offended you....’

[adambr2]

I guess the issue I have is with the ‘I apologize to anyone I may have offended’ apologizing. Just say you apologize for saying something bigoted and wrong, don’t qualify it with ‘if I may have offended you....’

 

 

Why does it matter? Whatever he says is obviously nothing more than attempted damage control at that point.

 

An apology is fine when you have a slip of the tongue on the air or make a joke that you later realize is in bad taste, both of which happen. This is nothing like that, what was said was fully intended and he obviously believes it so I don't really know what the point of any apology is as it is meaningless.

[PeaveyFury]

I guess the issue I have is with the ‘I apologize to anyone I may have offended’ apologizing. Just say you apologize for saying something bigoted and wrong, don’t qualify it with ‘if I may have offended you....’

 

 

Why does it matter? Whatever he says is obviously nothing more than attempted damage control at that point.

 

An apology is fine when you have a slip of the tongue on the air or make a joke that you later realize is in bad taste, both of which happen. This is nothing like that, what was said was fully intended and he obviously believes it so I don't really know what the point of any apology is as it is meaningless.

 

Fair point. I think my thought is that you should at least make the apology sound sincere rather than a carefully worded spin attempt.

[pacopete4]

Brockmire would be proud.

[Eye Black]

Somebody said a naughty word. Big deal.

There’s a pretty significant difference between saying “a naughty word” and using a homophobic slur in a derogatory context.

[MrTPlush]

He has a chance to recover from this because the sports world isn’t exactly a place the LGBTQ community flocks to. There are probably more people loving his comment for comedy purposes and watching his career implode than there are people who are legitimately offended in the baseball/sports world.

 

It’s bad...that world is beyond outdated and wrong. I’m not sure the context to why it was apart of a conversation, but saying that on air is pretty rough. He is in a career where it’s hard to rebound from that and get a second chance regardless of the severity in what is said.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I think what a lot of people are getting at is that there is no apology that covers letting a hot mic unexpectedly catch you unawares at your ugly, true self.

 

You can apologize all day long, but I'm sorry just doesn't cover it.I think though, at the end of the day it is still his obligation to apologize, take the beating that he knows he has coming and then slink off. I think there's a big problem when people say the words "if I offended anybody"or some variation of that theme. Of course you offended somebody. There's absolutely no doubt you offended some number of people. You probably hurt people. People that trusted you or looked up to you.

 

instead maybe saying something like," by choosing to use such hurtful language I know that I have hurt people...." Or something like that. It's no more of an apology but at least it's an acceptance of the fact that using such ugly language is damaging and hurtful.

[dlk9s]

Somebody said a naughty word. Big deal.

 

You should probably use some critical thinking skills.

[JimH5]

So many of these apologies get it wrong when they use phrases like "that's not who I really am", "I'm sorry if you were offended", etc. Brennaman did both of those and he threw in the ever popular "I'm a man of faith", and talked about possible punishment, taking away his headset, his paycheck...

 

Whatever punishment he is due will come at the right time, and it will be decided by people who aren't him. What he should have done was talk about his own mistake, his own shortcomings, and express remorse and contrition for that. Leave the rest for others to deal with.

 

Here is how I think it could have gone better for him:

 

"Earlier tonight, I said something that was wrong in every way, and I apologize for that. I used hateful language toward a group of people who deserve better from me and from everyone, and in doing so, I brought embarrassment to this broadcast and everyone associated with it. I wish I hadn't have said what I did. There really is no context in which it's okay to use that language, or to harbor the hateful, ignorant thoughts behind it. I'm sorry that I let everybody down."

 

Don't defend yourself, don't explain yourself, don't blame others, or require that they pass a test to qualify that they are authorized to be offended. Don't ask for forgiveness or leniency. Save that for another day. If "this isn't the real you", let others make that case.

 

I think being the son of Marty Brennaman will serve him well in Cincinnati. But not today, and not for the rest of this season. I think he needs to go away for awhile and give people time to consider whether he is a good guy or not.

 

Ryan Braun stained his image badly. But since his suspension, he's done the right things and has made some significant repairs. I don't know if that works for a broadcaster, of whom there are many. Braun was under contract and had unique talent. Lots of guys can do baseball on tv.

[owbc]

I feel for his poor coworkers who likely have to deal with a homophobe on a daily basis.

 

Even if the mic wasn’t hot he should have been fired for saying that while on the job.