Philadelphia Flyers play-by-play announcer Tim Saunders has been suspended for two games after making an inappropriate on-air comment during a recent radio broadcast, the team announced.
The incident occurred late in the third period of a Flyers game, when Saunders appeared to believe the team had gone into a television timeout. Assuming the broadcast had shifted to a commercial break, Saunders hummed briefly to fill dead air before making a flippant remark (WARNING: CLIP IS NSFW) to a colleague.
Unbeknownst to Saunders, the microphone was still live, and color commentator Todd Fedoruk quickly realized listeners could hear the exchange. Saunders reportedly laughed it off, assuming Fedoruk was joking.
The Flyers, in a statement, said the organization and their broadcast partner, 97.5 The Fanatic, had issued the suspension and expressed apologies to anyone affected by the comments. The statement did not explicitly name Saunders, but the suspension applies to him.
“This action reflects our commitment to maintaining professionalism and respect in all aspects of our broadcast,” the team said.
Saunders, a longtime voice of the Flyers, has been a fixture in Philadelphia sports media for decades, making the incident all the more notable. The Flyers did not provide further details about the specific content of the comment but stressed that the suspension was intended to uphold standards for both the broadcast team and the organization. The two-game suspension is effective immediately.
Saunders has not issued a public statement. The team and Saunders have not officially stated if they will resume normal broadcast operations following the completion of the suspension.
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