ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was pulled from Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl radio broadcast after making crude comments to sideline reporter Jeanine Edwards during a production meeting.
Edwards and Franklin were part of a team that included broadcasters Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. According to SportsByBrooks, Franklin, Cunningham and Gilmore were in the midst of a conversation about Gilmore’s wife recently being elected the mayor of Alameda, California.
As the three men talked, Edwards attempted to join in. That’s when Franklin said, “Why don’t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.”
Edwards responded, “Don’t call me sweetcakes, I don’t like being talked to like that.”
To which Franklin said, “Okay then, asshole.”
Edwards reported Franklin to ESPN management and they attempted to pull him from that day’s Chick-Fil-A-Bowl. But when they couldn’t find a replacement on such short notice, they had to stick with Franklin. As SbB notes, the telecast went off without a hitch.
Full story: ESPNer calls female sideline reporter ‘sweetcakes,’ ‘a-hole’ is pulled from broadcast