Photo Courtesy of Resist Programming/ Twitter
In Norman, Oklahoma, a community has denounced a basketball announcer after he was caught on a hot mic calling the Norman High School girls basketball team “n*****s.”
On Thursday evening, the team opted to kneel while the national anthem played prior to starting a state championship game against Midwest City High School. Matt Rowan and Scott Sapulpa, contract announcers from the National Federation of High School Network (NFHSN), informed listeners that they were signing off for a break.
As the girls knelt, Rowan was heard saying,
“They’re kneeling? F**k them. I hope Norman gets their a** kicked.”He continued: “I hope they lose. C’mon Midwest City. They’re gonna kneel like that? Hell no. F*****g n*****s.”
The team’s basketball coach, Frankie Parks, posted a video with the audio of the incident on Twitter. It has since gone viral.
Reactions on the social media platform to the offensive video were justifiably angry.
Dr. Nick Migliorino, the Superintendent of Norman Public Schools, denounced the racist rhetoric by the announcer.
“We condemn and will not tolerate the disgusting words and attitudes of these announcers. This type of hate speech has no place in our society, and we are outraged that it would be directed at any human being, and particularly at our students,” he
said via a statement.“We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression, and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, particularly our Black students and coaching staff,” Migliorino continued.
“It is tragic that the hard work and skill of this team is being overshadowed by the vile, malignant words of these individuals. We will do everything in our power to support and uplift our team and everyone affected by this incident.”
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Rowan, of course, has since apologized for using the racial slur against the girls basketball team. He dared to attribute his racist behavior to low-blood sugar brought on by type 1 diabetes.
The clown announcer, who also said he’s a pastor, released a statement that we don’t give a damn about.
“While not excusing my remarks, it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I become disorientated and often say things that are not appropriate as well as hurtful,” Rowan wrote.
“I do not believe that I would have made such horrible statements absent my sugar spiking.”
Sure, Matt.