Fox Apologizes For NBA Announcers’ Controversial Comments About Iranian Player
Fox Apologizes For NBA Announcers’ Controversial Comments About Iranian Player
Last Friday, the Fox Sports Prime Ticket cable network suspended longtime Los Angeles Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler and analyst Michael Smith for controversial comments the two made on air about Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi two days prior.
During the game, Lawler expressed surprise that an Iranian would be playing in the NBA. “He’s from Iran?!” Lawler asked. “THAT Iran?!” Smith then ridiculed Haddadi by comparing him to “Borat”:
SMITH: Are you sure that’s not Borat’s older brother? […] If they ever make a movie avout Haddadi I’m going to get Sasha Baron Cohen to play the part. […]
LAWLER: Here’s Haddadi, nice little back door pass
SMITH: Look at that pass!
LAWLER: I guess those Iranians can pass the ball!
Watch it:
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) encouraged Iranian-Americans to contact Fox to complain. “More than 2,000 people responded to our call,” NIAC claimed on Saturday announcing that Fox had issued an apology:
“We regret the remarks made by Clippers announcers Michael Smith and Ralph Lawler during Wednesday’s telecast. While we believe that Michael and Ralph did not intend their exchange to be offensive, in retrospect, the comments were inappropriate. We extend our apologies to Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies and to anyone who was offended. We have addressed this situation with Michael and Ralph and have taken appropriate action.”
NIAC is still working to ensure that the apology is read on air.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Always KKKlassy, ain’tcha, FUX?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pmIt never ends, does it? Another week, another apology.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pmThe National Iranian American Council (NIAC) encouraged Iranian-Americans to contact Fox to complain. “More than 2,000 people responded to our call
– - But Fox suspended Lawler and Smith because of just ONE complaint – from a Clippers’ season ticket holder. Owner Donald Sterling needs to hang on to all of those that he can.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:27 pmIsn’t LA home to one of the biggest Iranian-American communities in the country?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pmWondering what the is the common thing here.
is it theres this many A-holes in the world
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pmor is it some thing to do with fox in general as it seems fox is in the back ground a lot.
‘Did not intend thier exchange to be offensive’ Really? How else are people supposed to take it?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pmThese folks will surely become the new sports ambassadors in Glenn Beck’s 2010 takeover of the country…
http://www.political-buzz.com/
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pmAnother reason to watch games with the sound off.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pmsnorlax says:
kudos to fox.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
____________
Why?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:31 pm@8, Kudos for Fox apologizing OR for what the idiots said?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pmNo Mustache and they’re saying he looks like Borat?
Lame (and likely racist)
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pmDollars to doughnuts, that moron is a repiggie.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pmFox has much more to apologize for…I’m glad they’re finally getting a pinch of reality…but, imo, they’re still @ssholes…
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pmAm I the only progressive that was not all the offended by the comments? Having lived in the Middle East and being an Arabic and Persian speaker I should be sensitive to this sort of thing, but I was not all that offended. They said he was from Iran, no big deal big deal.
The biggest offense they made was mis-pronouncing Iran. They said “Eye-ran”, when really it should be “Ee-ron.”
Oh and for the record the first time I saw the Borat movie it was with about 12 Iranian guys. We all laughed hysterically and they all said that they had uncles that Borat reminded them of.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm@8, Well, we are waiting.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pmSMITH: […] If they ever make a movie about Haddadi I’m going to get Sasha Baron Cohen to play the part.
– - If they ever make a movie about the Clippers, it’ll out-disaster Titanic.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pmBoy, those FoxSpurts announcers sure can piss in their beer!
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pmWell, I’m not going to make as big a stink about this. It’s squarely on the shoulders of the announcers, not on Fox. They were in the wrong speaking about another culture as if they were invalid, but frankly I’ve heard worse coming from some AM radio “sports” stations.
I’m looking at you, Dennis & Callahan.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pmDon’t wanna be an American Idiot…
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 pmI noticed snorlax crawled under the rock whence he came, but all the while voting us down….
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pmDon’t know which is more surprising:
That announcers in LA made comments like that about an Iranian player (given the size of the Iranian American community in the metro area)…or that there were enough people actually WATCHING a Clippers game to be offended?
This is a franchise that’s made the playoffs a grand total of 7 times in 38 years, never winning a division title. Never making it past the semifinals, and winning percentage of .362.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pmI noticed snorlax crawled under the rock whence he came, but all the while voting us down….
This is why I take what a giant half-asleep Pokemon says with a grain of salt. Not only do they get the wrong info, they’re half asleep when they get it.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:49 pm15. austex_chris,
Seriously. We’ve all heard announcer say far more offensive things during nationally broadcast sporting events
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 pmThat being said, austex_chris, I disagree; I think those comments were inappropriate for that game. If it were a bunch of guy friends shooting the breeze with a ball game and they were joking about it with Hadaddi and he was fine with it, it’s one thing. Saying it during a professional ball game where is can easily be construed as racist by others (and let’s face it, it can go that way, even in context) and Hadiddi can’t defend himself or doesn’t approve is entirely different.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 pmIsn’t it a bit much to expect any sports commentator to act like an adult?
After all the majority of them are just wannabe jocks who live vicariously through the bravado and masculinity of star players and have to “compete” by talking ’smack’ about anyone that doesn’t precisely comport with their parochial and juvenile concepts of what makes an athlete or just any person worth their respect.
(Exceptions to the above would include Bob Costas, who actually has a brain and pays attention to the world ourside sports, Keith Olbermann and the late great Peter Jenning who both been sports casters).
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
P.D. I take them at their word that the announcers didn’t mean it to be offensive. I mean, c’mon — they’re basketball announcers. Cultural sensitivity isn’t really part of their job description, nor will it appeal to a large chunk of their audience.
All in all, I think the statement from the network summed it up pretty well. It was inappropriate but wasn’t meant to offend. It was just meant to be stupid.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:02 pmThat’s a pretty definitive statement, Daryll. Got something to back it up?
I’m guessing no, since I think it’s highly unlikely that most Americans are even aware that it happened.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:03 pmworship and adore God says:
That is your opinion.
No that’s a “fact” – you racism is “your opinion”.
worship and adore God says:
Most Americans didn’t find it offensive.
“Most” Americans didn’t watch it. If you mean most Americans “wouldn’t” find it offensive, how do you know? Is that “your opinion” that most Americans are as racist as you are Daryll the bovine?
worship and adore God says:
Austin, this is what the liberals have been doing since they took over.
What’s that – pointing out what a bunch of racist punks you losers are?
worship and adore God says:
They want us to act like liberal robots (eat, breath, sleep, talk, and act liberal).
Project much you racist pathetic biblebot?
worship and adore God says:
I saw nothing wrong with the announcers’ comments.
Then we have a “fact” that your “opinion” is racist.
worship and adore God says:
I am tired of liberals over-blowing things. Get a life.
LOL! Funny coming from a loser with no life that over-blows everything in right wing religious extremist dooms day crap! Project much you stupid little putz?
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pmaustex_chris says:
The biggest offense they made was mis-pronouncing Iran. They said “Eye-ran”, when really it should be “Ee-ron.”
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
_____________
I gave up on that battle a long time ago. Americans just ain’t gonna get it. And forget about them learning to say 3raq…
And yes, the comments weren’t Earth-shatteringly offensive – they’re more awkward than anything else. But I do wonder – would they have made such a big deal over a player from, say, Nigeria or Belarus?
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pmralph@28, Yeah, I guess stupidity isn’t a crime. If it were, all the ‘Tea-Baggers’ would be in jail.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pmHey Parodyll!
How’s that elephant like gestation going?
Been elected yet to city councilman in Indiana, even though you reside in West Virginia.
Your parody shtick is getting old boring and stale. Maybe you should post more often to hone up on it!
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 pmActually, what I find offensive was that they actually thought they were being funny.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:09 pmAnd can someone explain to be what the heck is the OTHER Iran?
worship and adore God says:
I am tired of liberals over-blowing things. Get a life. And death to Newsweek for publishing a photo of my goddess that she retroactively decided that she didn’t want to pose for!!!!1!
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:09 pmYeah, I’m getting tired of people telling me what to say or do.
Isn’t that right, worship and adore god?
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:11 pmFox’s apologies are the highlight of their programming. The rest is at best useless and as a norm destructive. Like all bullies and cowards when confronted they wimper and cry. If they had an ounce of courage they would stand by their words. And yes I make no distiction between their sports and news operations, the management sets the tone for what they do and laying the blame on some announcer or some low level production assistant shows their cowardice. If they have a problem with this kind of crap, their management could fix it, and time and again they do not. So when they get called they shift the blame to those who were only following the tone management had set. Where I come from we call it chickenshit.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
My man Parodyll says:
Project much you stupid little putz
Now, that wasn’t very Christian like!
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:22 pmDaryll, you’ve clearly given up any pretense you ever had of holding a reasonable conversation.
Granted, you never had much of a chance of achieving that, so maybe you’ve decided to cut your losses and just sling your uninformed prejudices helter-skelter and see what sticks in the cracks in the floorboards.
You used to be a lot more fun. Now you’re just pathetic.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:23 pmOh Daryll – goofing off your taxpayer-paid job? Or are you home (vacation day paid by taxpayers)? If you’re home don’t you think spending some quality time with little Sarah would be a much better way of spending your time than coming here just to cause trouble?
I’m sure that if an announcer during the Olympics made comments expressing surprise that a ski jumper was a black man (I mean, do black men ski?!) he’d be just fine with it.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pmOh, working from home you say Daryll? By loggin on to TP and causing trouble? Get back to work man! We taxpayers don’t fund that job of yours so that you can insult people here at TP. Go check up on poor little Sarah. She might need some tending to.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 pmralph,
It does appear that there is one poster who get’s on Parodyll’s nerves.
I don’t think I have ever seen him actually direct a mean spirited post towards an individual.
I guess I’m just used to the generalized venom, like “All you libs are lazy” crap.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 pmAnother day, another stupidity. And that racist blunder by the two commentators just happened on Fux News Network of all places. LA Clippers have issues even the owner Donald Sterling is an absolute pill. So far for the Clippers franchise: worst record and a coach that needs to be replaced.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:27 pmParodyll, posting on a political blog, and downloading porn doesn’t really constitute “working”.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 pmOh, I don’t know about that, DRxJ… when you’re as reality-challenged as Daryll, and as conflicted about anything remotely sexual, I suspect it’s a lot of work to type in the right terms into those search engines to get the right lists of sites that feature pictures of waifish, scantily-clad Brazilian boy prostitutes who need salvation.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 pmDaryll, do the birds still smell like pee after they use your bird bath?
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:50 pmTo hear white folks tell the story, they NEVER intend to be offensive.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:52 pmAustin, this is what the liberals have been doing since they took over.
Having a different opinion than you? Le gasp!
They want us to act like liberal robots (eat, breath, sleep, talk, and act liberal).
We prefer to be called organically challenged, thank you very much. Robots is so 1950s.
Get a life.
After you, good sir.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:58 pmAnd we still keep trying to tell them Eye-Ran-ees that we are against the govt but for the people. Yeah, right.
BTW – Memphis Grizzlies ? I’ve never seen a bear at all in downtown Memphis. And even in the area, there are black bears but not grizzlies.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:17 pmFaux Noise should be taken off the air and shut down permanently. They are just racist fascist rabblerousers. Several medical personnel and doctors have been injured or murdered by criminals egged on by the continual demonizing by Faux commentators.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pmLet’s keep in mind that these men are sports announcers and not diplomats. They say stupid stuff because they are paid to talk all of the time and really not to call the game. I always laugh when they refer to a player as a “physical player”. What else could they be? If they could play ball mentally, no one would be watching and they would soon be consumed by the military.
The appropriate punishment here should be meted out to their handlers who never trained them.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 pmTrue enough. Most of these guys, I’m convinced don’t even listen to the words that come out of their mouths.
it’s always baffled me how men with no facility for language or insight could build careers based on speaking extemporaneously on air.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:00 pmOn a side note, as pathetic as daryll has become, I’m still a little disappointed that he bailed so quickly today.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pmworship and adore God says:
That is your opinion. Most Americans didn’t find it offensive. Austin, this is what the liberals have been doing since they took over. They want us to act like liberal robots (eat, breath, sleep, talk, and act liberal). I saw nothing wrong with the announcers’ comments. I am tired of liberals over-blowing things. Get a life.
If it were up to you conservatives, racism, sexism, and homophobia would become acceptable and outrage over them would be “overblowing things.” What happens when racists and homophobes encouraged by a permissive attitude such as you conservatives espouse, take it to the next step and commit hate crimes? When we talk about those, are we still “overblowing things?”
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 pmThese two idiots prove that Republicans can’t see anything but race when they judge people. What does it matter what country this man is from, he’s playing a game, not fighting a war. This is one of the most racist things I’ve ever heard. These fools should be fired on the spot, and not allowed to apoligize. How would they feel if they were constantly indentified by their country or race, when they are working?
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 pm#52 MapleStreet says:
Never saw a grizzly bear in Memphis, but I have seen a few grizzled blues players!
The best place in the country for juke-joints and the blues, fried baloney sannitches and some of the best bar-b-cue around.
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm59. Ah Gully Foyle, being from the deep south I’ll have to challenge you on the BBQ. Where I come from BBQ isn’t a food, it is a religion.
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:35 pmApologize for what exactly? Jeez, people have thin skin out in the hinderland. P.C. stinks. Long live, Don Rickels.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:07 pmOh yeah, blame Fox and Conservatism for remarks made by a couple of sportcasters. Way to go, loons.
But, whatever is efficient enough to offend Liberals is good in my book. Hope y’all limp-wristed, touchey-feely, mamsey-pamsey, Lefty kooks choked on your granola when you heard that. Loosen up those birkenstocks once in a while. :)
Your mere existence is offensive to me so suck it, Libs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:46 pmFox- racist all the way.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:00 pm#62 flagged for homophobic & threatening remarks.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:01 pmIf it hasn’t already been pointed out in the comments, these classless announcers, besides not being funny, are ethnically ignorant: Borat wouldn’t be Iran native Haddadi’s brother in any shape or form since the former’s character (played by Sasha Baron Cohen) is based on a Jewish character from Kazakhstan.
Shameless plug but I talked about this last night at the end of my weekly Internet radio segment where I round up the most idiotic moments in the world of sports (the “What Were They Thinking” segment).
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm