Baseball commentator who said ‘f*g’ live on air admit’s he’s ‘used that word before’ – but won’t again after it cost him his job
Thom Brennaman apologises for using a homophobic slur on air (YouTube/JDC)
Disgraced baseball commentator Thom Brennaman admitted he is “embarrassed” for his family as he reflected on the homophobic slur that cost him his job.
Brennaman was suspended in August when he referred to Kansas City as “one of the fag capitals of the world” while he thought his mic was off. His on-air plea for forgiveness fell short of the mark as he broke off midway to comment on the baseball game in front of him.
He later issued an extensive statement of apology claiming he now realised the full impact of the hateful word he so casually used, having been educated by members of the LGBT+ community.
Brennaman addressed the scandal and its aftermath on 30 November in an interview with 700 WLW where he admitted he’s missing the broadcast booth.
“Obviously, I wish it wouldn’t have happened. I’m ashamed that it did happen. I’m embarrassed. I embarrassed a lot of people,” he confessed. “I embarrassed my family. I hurt my wife. I hurt my kids. Obviously, I hurt my career. But that’s further down the totem pole than hurting your family and embarrassing them.
“I have two kids in high school here that have to deal with all that. And when they go to Google their dad — if they ever do — but if they do, I’m a homophobe. And I’m not a homophobe.”
He continued: “I know there a lot of people that’ll say, ‘Well you used that word, so that makes you a homophobe.’ And for those people, I get it, I understand. But since then, I’ve tried to listen and to learn and to grow from other people and realise the magnitude of the word that I used.”
Thom Brennaman ‘has never been a homophobe’.
It looks like the commentator’s career won’t be interrupted for long, though, as Thom Brennaman was recently invited to address the WVU basketball team in Virginia.
“I can’t apologise for trying to get a job,” he said, noting that he has a wife and children to support and he needs to move on from his mistake.
“To be known in a lot of circles as a homophobe — I have never been a homophobe, not for one minute of my life,” Brennaman said. “Have I used that word before? Yes, I’ve used that word before. Will I ever use it again? You can take it to the bank there’s no chance of that.”
