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Fox Sports cuts Thom Brennaman from NFL broadcasts following on-air anti-gay slur

A day after being pulled from a Cincinnati Reds broadcast, Thom Brennaman lost his NFL job.

Fox Sports announced on Thursday that the veteran broadcaster won’t call NFL games moving forward after he uttered an anti-gay slur on air during a break in Wednesday’s Reds game vs. the Kansas City Royals.

“Fox Sports is extremely disappointed with Thom Brennaman’s remarks during Wednesday’s Cincinnati Reds telecast,” a network statement reads. “The language used was abhorrent, unacceptable, and not representative of the values of Fox Sports. As it relates to Brennaman’s Fox NFL role, we are moving forward with our NFL schedule which will not include him.”

Brennaman’s hot-mic moment

A microphone on Wednesday’s Reds broadcast caught Brennaman saying “the f-- capital of the world” in between innings of a Fox Sports Ohio production. The incident occurred before the seventh inning of the first game of a doubleheader.

Brennaman continued to call the game before eventually issuing an on-air apology during the second game as news of the slur gained traction on social media. He signed off after his fifth-inning apology.

‘I am deeply ashamed’

“I made a comment earlier tonight, that I guess went out over the air, that I am deeply ashamed of. If I have hurt anyone out there, I can’t tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart that I’m so very, very sorry,” Brennaman said.

“I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith, as there is a drive into deep left field by Castellanos. It will be a home run, and so that will make it a 4-0 ballgame. I don’t know if I’m going to 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 want to apologize to the people who sign my paycheck, for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anybody that I’ve offended here tonight.

“I can’t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That is not who I am and it never has been. I’d like to think maybe I could have some people that can back that up. I am very, very sorry, and I beg for your forgiveness.”

Thom Brennaman won't be calling NFL games on Fox this fall. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Thom Brennaman won't be calling NFL games on Fox this fall. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Brennaman’s status with Reds

The Reds announced shortly after the game that Brennaman was suspended from team broadcasts. The team vowed to address “our broadcasting team in the coming days.”

“The Cincinnati Reds organization is devastated by the horrific, homophobic remark made this evening by broadcaster Thom Bennaman,” the statement reads. “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.”

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