Re: Thom Brennaman:

This is not about a hot mic. Anyone making it about a hot mic — or anything specific to the broadcast industry — is missing the point. It’s about words and it’s about professionalism. But most of all, it’s about a basic expectation of human decency.

No one — on-air or not, in a broadcast setting or a baseball setting or a random corporate setting — should be using hateful slurs. This should be grounds for firing an employee, regardless of whether a mic is hot. You do not speak that way, ever.

Even if it had been a commercial break, we know his on-air partner(s) would’ve heard it. There’s a good chance the producer, director, and other crew would’ve heard it.

Would you throw that word around in your office? Why did Thom feel comfortable doing so?