Fox Sports has suspended Los Angeles Clippers announcers Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith for one game. What did they do to merit the unscheduled vacation? We’re not quite sure.
Whatever it was, only one viewer complained about it. But that was apparently enough to scare the bejeezus out of Fox.
Here’s the damning conversation that supposedly merited the suspension:
Smith: “Look who’s in.”
Lawler: “Hamed Haddadi. Where’s he from?”
Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.”
Lawler: “There aren’t any Iranian players in the NBA.”
Smith: “He’s the only one.”
Lawler: “He’s from Iran?”
Smith: “I guess so.”
Lawler: “That Iran?”
Smith: “Yes.”
Lawler: “The real Iran?”
Smith: “Yes.”
Lawler: “Wow. Haddadi – that’s H-A-D-D-A-D-I.”
Smith: “You’re sure it’s not Borat’s older brother?”
Smith: “If they ever make a movie about Haddadi, I’m going to get Sacha Baron Cohen to play the part.”
Lawler: “Here’s Haddadi. Nice little back-door pass. I guess those Iranians can pass the ball.”
Clipper season ticket holder Arya Towfighi was watching the game with his young son when the conversation between Lawler and Smith occurred.
Towfighi was so offended that he escorted the lad out of the room before replaying the comments. “I didn’t want my son to hear that,” he said. After watching the replay, the outraged Iranian emailed complaints to Clippers and Fox Sports executives. For good measure, he shot one off to the Los Angeles Times, too.
Cyrus Hadavi, a spokesman for the Alliance of Iranian Americans in L.A., was equally horrified. He was left “kind of speechless. In this day and age, why would someone say something like this? Were they trying to offend a whole nation?”
For the life of us, we can’t figure out what was so offensive about the sportscasters commentary.
Here’s our bottom line: Lawler has been the Clippers announcer for 31 years. Anyone who’s been forced to watch this pathetic team for that long should be given dispensation to say just about any damn thing he wants.
Even if it’s offensive to two or three people.
Source: The Big Feed
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess maybe the Borat comment was a bit out of line…..but the whole Iranian thing is obsurd….but suspended?
Squeeky wheel always gets the oil…..
here’s an idea-LEAVE THE COUNTRY IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT!
It is really simple-we need to do what they do in Switzerland, Austria, and some other intelligent Euro-Nations…..don’t let them in, and then we don’t have to listen to them complain. We don’t have to have them kill our soldiers on our own soil. And we don’t have to worry every day of our lives that they are going to kill us.
I guess that would be too easy for the Democrats who are professional appeasers! Makes me ill!
What? I don’t see what is so wrong about this?
Nothing biut DAMN cry babies – makes me SICK. This is a nation of immigrants and if we cannot make a joke about it we are in big trouble… I guess we’re in BIG trouble.
I am sorry to say that it is only beginning…
Every time there’s a comment regarding anyone from the Muslim community… they always manage to get immediate results with just one complaint. Like one Muslim complaining that a business has alcohol near his mosque… so the business is being pressured to close. Or the small amount of Muslims that complained at a meat packing plant that they wanted to be paid for prayer time while at work… so they get paid while non-muslims get no special privileges for pay to celebrate their religion. My question is this: Why is FOX news folding for ONE complaint… while millions of American’s complain to news outlets daily for their unfair treatment of TEA Party patriots… while using the politically INCORRECT term of “Teabaggers” – yet no one is fired or temporarily retired for an offense in which millions complain? STOP LISTENING TO THE THREATS OF ISLAM and CAIR… stop enabling them to draw the lines and to use our constitutional laws against us. WAKE UP… this is insidious.
easy….they’re white.
This sounds like a joke… is it a joke?
It does, indeed, sound like a joke. But it’s absolutely legit.
Someone has Clippers season tickets???
That is the real joke.
maybe the borat joke was a little off, but seriously?
offending a whole country with that? they are so stupid, that they think that iranians actually watch american tv to see such things.
iranian douchebag doesnt realize he lives in america now, he wouldnt be pissed if the guy was ripping on the british, he just has thin skin, or is looking for some $$$
well, okay, seems like he would fit into a certain group of americans…
Those guys should be thankful they didn’t say his middle name…Hussein.
My guess is the offended Iranian is really just trying to cover for the fact that he is a Clippers season ticket holder. I believe that is one of the ways losers are identified in LA.