A sports announcer at an Oklahoma high school basketball game uttered racial slur on a live microphone as players on the court knelt during the national anthem on Thursday night, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation.
In a video clip that quickly went viral, the announcer can be heard cursing as he sees players on the Norman High School women’s basketball team kneel just before the start of a quarterfinal state tournament game against Midwest City.
“Are they on their knees?” he says, apparently unaware that he and the rest of the broadcast team can still be heard. Then he pronounces racial slander, adding, “I hope they lose.”
“Are they going to kneel like that?” he continues. “No way.”
Frankie Parks, a professor at Norman High School and staff technician, posted a video clip on Twitter on Friday morning, condemning the announcer’s comments, that infuriated local leaders around Norman, a city of 123,000 people about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City.
“Tell us how you really feel?” Mr. Parks wrote. “That’s why they kneel down.”
The announcer, Matt Rowan, apologized in a statement to The Frontier, a nonprofit news organization covering Oklahoma. The organization described Rowan as the owner of a streaming service that broadcast the game.
Rowan’s company website, OSPN, appeared to have been taken down on Saturday morning. Rowan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
In his statement, Rowan, who described himself as a married father of two who attends a Baptist church, said he had type 1 diabetes.
“Not only did I feel ashamed and disappointed, I also felt ashamed and disappointed my family and friends,” he said. “During the game, my sugar was skyrocketing. Although I do not excuse my observations, it is not uncommon when my sugar jumps that I get disoriented and often say things that are inappropriate as well as painful. “
Mr Rowan said that if it weren’t for his sugar spike, “I don’t believe I would have made such horrible statements.”
He added that he could not explain why he made the comments.
“This is something for which I must take responsibility,” said Rowan. “I wholeheartedly accept responsibility for my words and actions.”
Thursday’s comments generated strong rebukes and fury from the mayor of norman and the Police Department, as well as NFL players like Kenny Stills and Gerald McCoy, who posted a photo on Twitter of high school players kneeling in support.
“These girls are tough”, the sergeant. Neelon Greenwood, of the Norman Police Department, said in a statement. “They are fighters. Comments made against them will add fuel to your fire. “
The partner network of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which broadcasts high school sports games, and the Oklahoma High School Activities Association, which runs the tournament, said they are investigating.
In statements in pairs, both organizations said that the broadcast team would not be used for the rest of the tournament.
The network said it “immediately cut ties with the outsourced production team that was involved”.
“We apologize and are disgusted by the comments,” said the network. “The thoughts expressed in no way represent our network, and we are outraged that they found their way into production.”
The Norman High School women’s basketball team, which is undefeated, won the game 53-40.