Sports media was set ablaze this week by the unbelievable cancel culture-type suspension of Orioles TV broadcaster Kevin Brown. If you’re not familiar with the story, Orioles owner John Angelos reportedly called for the indefinite suspension of Brown following his pre-game comments during the broadcast about the Orioles’ past woes at Tropicana Field prior to playing the Rays.
Brown was reading the stats off of the on-screen graphic discussing how the team had struggled mightily playing in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Orioles have denied any suspension of Brown and have said that he will be returning to the team soon. It has been one of the most absurd media stories of the year for a broadcaster who was doing his job and it has caused outrage amongst many in the sports media, rightfully so.
From Michael Kay’s rant on his ESPN New York radio show to Mets play-by-play man Gary Cohen, as written by Barrett Sports Media, to many in between, the entire industry stood up for Brown, as they should have.
Now as someone who has been on both sides of the fence, sports and news media, I feel for my brothers and sisters on the sports side, and absolutely throw all my support behind the reinstatement of Kevin Brown. No broadcaster should have to deal with what he is going through.
However, for those of us now on the news/talk side of the fence, please understand that this is what we deal with on a near-daily basis, except worse. It used to be angry “listeners” (who weren’t really listeners) who might try to get hosts in the format suspended or fired. But now factor in social media, and it’s a whole new world for people to try and use cancel culture against those that they disagree with.
While Kevin Brown is entirely in the right and did nothing wrong, also rarely are the news/talk hosts who are paid to perform and express an opinion, all while figuring out how to stand out in the ever-growing competitive landscape that is our oversaturated media environment. That doesn’t excuse bad behavior or incredibly inappropriate commentary, but in today’s ultra-divisive climate, what one might deem “inappropriate” another considers “mainstream”. Every host can feel like he or she is walking a tightrope on a segment-by-segment basis on certain days, depending on the topics.
I would simply ask that my colleagues on the sports media side express the same indignation when there is a push for the cancellation, suspension, or firing of a news media member in their community. Barring something egregious, media members, regardless of worldviews, need to be standing up for each other on the basis of doing one’s job and free speech, which remains under attack on a daily basis in this country, mostly geared towards one side of the political aisle. If the media can’t at least stand up for each other, then we’re all losing the battle.
And while employers absolutely have a right to decide the commentary they like and don’t like, and base one’s employment on that, there needs to be an understanding of protection that a broadcaster can feel comfortable doing the job they were asked to do.
When someone like Kevin Brown is allegedly suspended for sharing incredibly basic and pertinent facts, or a talk-show host is discussing anything from the latest cultural battles of the day to the President’s inability to walk up the stairs on Air Force One, these should not be cancel culture triggering events for the employees. These commentaries are what they are paid to do, once again, barring something egregious.
So while I am absolutely on board with throwing my support behind Kevin Brown and the entire sports media landscape, I would ask them: Will you support us? Even if you disagree at times? Because for every Kevin Brown, there will be a dozen or more in our lane having to fight back against cancel culture. Welcome to our world.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the morning show host and program director for KCMO in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. Pete was also the sports and news director for Omni Media Group at K-1O1/Z-92 in Woodward, Oklahoma. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on Twitter @PeteMundo.
