A lesson in being unprofessional, direct from the men at ESPN!
ESPN analyst Barry Booker choked on his foot during an SEC Network broadcast of Missouri vs Arkansas men's basketball game on Saturday night.
A promotion for an SEC (Southeastern Conference) gymnastics match between the Alabama and Arkansas women's gymnastics teams prompted Booker to say:
"I wanna go see some scantily clad girls!"
He then went on to say he would be "in [his] hotel room" at the time of the broadcast on Valentine's Day.
The comment was immediately off-putting to Richard Cross, the lead announcer for the evening, who quickly cut Booker off:
"No, no! One of the great family atmospheres that you will find in all of college athletics is gymnastics meets."
The SEC said Booker's comment did "not meet the expectations we have for the SEC Network."
"The SEC's women's gymnastics student-athletes deserve our support for many reasons, including their dedication and achievement. We are in communication with the SEC Network and ESPN personnel, and I am confident this issue will be handled appropriately."
People are rallying to make sure the SEC actually takes action.
Sydney McGlone, a former gymnast with the Arkansas SEC team, tweeted her disapproval as well.
But as the SEC has not yet taken official action, people are wondering, what is being done to address the issue?
Booker's meager apology on air the night of the incident did little to stall the backlash coming his way. And while the SEC decides how to handle the problem, people's minds are pretty clearly made up about Booker's on air behavior.
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