Last night MLB Network analyst Matt Vasgersian apologized for an ill-advised joke he had made the night before. The incident occurred when Rockies Outfielder Brad Hawpe was injured and pulled from the field in a neck brace. In an attempt to make light of the somber moment, Vasgersian joked that one of the EMTs on the field looked exactly like Donavon McNabb. The joke turned what was a serious and solemn moment into a very awkward moment as Vasgersian’s fellow analysts chided him on air.
Feeling bad for the joke, Vasgersian looked to make it up last night with an apology:
“I am an idiot .. Save the racial stuff which is just flat out wrong, almost all of what has been posted on my regrettably horrific timing is spot on .. It was a bad decision made on live tv and i can absolutely understand how that make an announcer sound insensitive. Bad on the spot judgment. Nobody feels worse about it than I do guys.”
The apology appeased most, but more than a few are still upset. In the eyes of some, the problem with the joke wasn’t just it’s poor timing (which it had), but more importantly for it’s subtle racism. To some the joke was seen as promoting the racist idea that all black men look alike. Especially as the EMT did not particularly look like Donavon McNabb.
See for yourself and let me know what you think.
Video of the incident:
Video of the apology:
Comments
Joshua
April 29th, 2009 - 10:35:39 AM
Ooo, that was awkward. I dunno though, guy kind of does look like McNabb
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Chris
April 29th, 2009 - 2:34:17 PM
Donovan should be fired for this
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Mark
April 29th, 2009 - 5:55:30 PM
Not racist. Matt and his broadcast partner used to play this he-looks-like-this-guy thing in San Diego all the time... black, white, asian, latin, etc.
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Brett
April 29th, 2009 - 6:39:02 PM
Why do the networks make these guys do these terrible apologies. Everyone is so sensitive, he made a bad joke, nobody laughed, move on. It's not like the Anti Defamation League is gonna sue...
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Luis Mendez
April 30th, 2009 - 11:14:18 AM
He does look like donovan mc nabb. wtf what is more racist is the people that don't want to laugh about it. It's a joke. and it was a funny one, he honestly looked like a fat donovan mc nabb. not all black men look the same, just like not all chinese people look like asians. and mexicans don't look like each other either...lol. have you noticed that if you put lol at the end of the sentence everything is all of a sudden better. lol... see.
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