Thom Brennaman was a terrible broadcaster for many years. Thom was fortunate to land a job as play-by-play broadcaster because Marty, his father, was the greatest of all time. However, he proved to be just as bad as many other silver spooners.
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That's all you need to stay in broadcast television. If you sound good, it doesn't matter what words you use, except if they are extremely offensive, which Brennaman did last year when he was fired from Fox Sports.
Brennaman's on-air homophobic remarks and his exit from the show are still fresh in my mind. Nicholas Castellanos has hit a career high 29 home runs this season. It is a reminder that Deep Drive by Castellanos is a meme that results from Castellanos going deep. Brennamen talked about being a man-of-faith as part of his apology. He doesn't know if that was what he meant or if it was just a Hail Mary.
Brennaman seeks redemption this week. Brennaman is not seeking redemption by showing personal growth. Instead, he did an interview with Sports Broadcast Journal, and got a positive piece headlined "Remorseful Thom Brennaman deserves another chance." Brennaman has already been through 14 months of hell.
Thom Brennaman said an unforgivable thing fourteen months ago. He is now suffering the most severe punishment, the loss his coveted career. David J. Halberstam writes, not to be confused the late Pulitzer winner.
What is the most severe punishment? Brennaman wasn't sent to the electric chair. He was not in prison. He was not even banned from any social media platforms. To anyone who has suffered actual suffering over the past 18 months, this 14-months of hell is offensive. People have lost loved one, fallen ill, lost their jobs, and had to give up work that was more important for their survival than broadcasting the Cincinnati Reds games or second-rate Sunday afternoon NFL football games.
Halberstam is a reference to the PC mob. This is a group of cancel-culture activists who were not concerned about the repercussions for Brennaman's job loss. Another way of putting it is that enough viewers thought Brennaman was so disgusting that they should fire him. A private company made the business decision.
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It is not as easy as it seems for people with well-known names to broadcast professional sports. It is difficult to find slots and offending the audience with bigotry will make it more difficult. Or a woman. Gender representation is an entirely different kettle of fish in this industry.
Halberstam writes that Brennaman, while he is in purgatory suffers.
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Wait, is this purgatory?
Brennaman has a lot to say and demonstrates why he should not be returning to any prominent position in the near future. He didn't really have to, considering that he was not a good candidate for the highly sought-after job.
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Brennaman's statements need to be dissected. He may sound reasonable but it is clear that he doesn't understand the concept.
I'm sure that 99% of the people I meet while I'm shopping or buying coffee at the convenience store will say, "We miss you, we wish you were back!" Lets just imagine it being even 90%. Is it possible for executives to decide to placate the 10%?
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Let's go crazy. Donald Trump lost last year's election by more than 7,000,000 votes. His approval rating never fell below 50% during his presidency. Trump is a remarkable president. Perhaps the greatest ever.
Brennaman's life isn't very well-insulated. But you can assume that he lives, shops, and gets coffee where he is most likely to meet people who are similar to him demographically and ideologically. This trend has been around for decades, and it's not only online.
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Imagine you are a famous person who comes to the 7-Eleven. What do you think? Do you feel more inclined to approach someone if they are friendly and supportive? Have you ever walked up to someone at coffee and said that they were a racist piece of crap and shouldn't be allowed to work again? It's unlikely, as it is a strange thing to do when there is the option of doing nothing. Before you even consider the fact that Brennaman would be greeted by someone who looks exactly like the other white Boomers living in the Cincinnati area.
Even if 10% of his acquaintances tell him that he sucks them, the number who think Brennaman sucks more than 10%. This is not an insignificant 90%.
When I was unaware that we were airing the TV pre-game program, but my microphone was hot, I made an homophobic comment. The clip went viral even though it was not on-air. It is impossible to defend the word that I used in any way or form. Every second of it has been admitted to me. It was over the moment it left my lips.
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He isn't even admitting to it! Brennaman, in an answer to one question, debates whether he made a slur during broadcast. Streaming is the same as being on the air. Anyone who has been in TV for as long should know that you must treat a microphone like it's on the air any time it's on.
Even if Brennaman knew it was over the moment it left my lips from the beginning, why not immediately apologize? It's better to apologize immediately or make any corrections. It's bullshit.
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After Brennaman and Halberstam, Brennaman were transferred to Grant Napear (ex-Sacrament Kings broadcaster), who was fired last year after tweeting "All Lives Matter".
Brennaman stated that all life matters if we live in an environment where BLM is important. This makes you racist. This is absurd!
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Black Lives Matter has been responding with "all lives matter" for the 69,420,000. This is not true when Black Lives Matter's main issue is the fact that Black people are regularly being killed by police officers. All lives matter. After all the debate over the topic over the past year and half, it is clear that ignorance is an unacceptable rejoinder. It is unclear whether Brennaman is ignorant simply because he is a dope or because he is a bigot. It doesn't matter what, Napear is one the best guys in our industry and he shouldn't still be calling Kings games.
People who have coffee with Brennaman tell him he's a great guy, but that doesn't mean he should call Reds games. He also recommended Brennaman for Cubs games. Anything beyond high school football games, for those who will accept a self-serving bigot who is only sorry he was caught and who continues to pretend that his Christian faith is some sort of professional qualification.
