Looks like another baseball network TV employee has put their job on the line. Last week it was a SNY employee playing a 'Family Guy' sound byte at the end of the New York Mets' opening game. Now it seems a quote was lifted from a comment board of an Atlanta Braves sports blog and was read by a broadcaster on the air...and to top it off, it was attributed to a player on the opposing team!
This week the Atlanta Braves played a 4-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee, which started Monday and ended Thursday. During Wednesday's game, the popular Braves sports blog Talking Chop threw out a topic: "Is Chipper Jones a legitimate candidate for the Hall of Fame?"
That topic inspired a lot of back-and-forth discussion, but at some point, to throw in some comedy relief, a poster called "Bronn" threw out this comment: "Is Prince Fielder a legitimate threat to your stash of potato chips?" Because everyone knows making fun of Prince Fielder's weight is always good for a few laughs, and since the Braves were playing the Brewers, it seemed like an opportunity too good to waste.
Fast forward to Thursday's game, when during the TV coverage by Fox Sports South, Chip Caray reads what he believed to be a humorous quote from Milwaukee Brewers player Ryan Braun:
Naturally this seemed more than just a coincidence, so the questions started. Talking Chop came up with some possible explanations:
We have a couple of more:
Really? You don't think this is a big deal? Well, that's not good. How are we supposed to trust anything that the broadcasters are telling us during the game anymore? What if people take them at their word and believe that Ryan Braun really said this, and this makes them think that Ryan Braun is an insensitive jerk - does Ryan Braun has a case for defamation of character? How is Chip Caray supposed to feel after reading a quote from a player who never said it? There are too many questions here that make it difficult to just sweep this matter under the rug and play it off as an "honest mistake". It makes the whole Fox Sports South operation look bad.
Big League Stew thinks Fox Sports South needs to "apologize to Braun and the rest of the Brewers. FSS can't just go around taking off-the-cuff Internet remarks before putting them into the mouths of players who never came up with them."
I agree with that assessment and will take it a step further. FSS also needs to apologize to Chip Caray (who read the false quote on the air), the Talking Chop (who they stole the quote from), and the fans watching the broadcast as well. This was pretty irresponsible and FSS needs to take this matter seriously, as SNY did when one of their employees made them looked bad. If that means FSS needs to fire somebody, so be it. At the very least, they need to make sure a proper system of checks is in place so no single employee can undermine an entire broadcast.
Related: Click Here to Shop for Braves Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!
The Bronn / Braun Conspiracy or TC on TV [Talking Chop]
This week the Atlanta Braves played a 4-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee, which started Monday and ended Thursday. During Wednesday's game, the popular Braves sports blog Talking Chop threw out a topic: "Is Chipper Jones a legitimate candidate for the Hall of Fame?"
That topic inspired a lot of back-and-forth discussion, but at some point, to throw in some comedy relief, a poster called "Bronn" threw out this comment: "Is Prince Fielder a legitimate threat to your stash of potato chips?" Because everyone knows making fun of Prince Fielder's weight is always good for a few laughs, and since the Braves were playing the Brewers, it seemed like an opportunity too good to waste.
Fast forward to Thursday's game, when during the TV coverage by Fox Sports South, Chip Caray reads what he believed to be a humorous quote from Milwaukee Brewers player Ryan Braun:
When asked if Chipper Jones is a legitimate candidate to the Hall of Fame: "Is Prince Fielder a legitimate threat to your stash of potato chips?"The joke was read out loud with the camera focused on Ryan Braun and the question and response were displayed on screen. See Talking Chop for the picture.
Naturally this seemed more than just a coincidence, so the questions started. Talking Chop came up with some possible explanations:
1. Pure coincidence, but that's no fun.
2. Bronn is in fact Ryan Braun.
3. Someone at FSS saw the quote on TC and mistakenly attributed it to Ryan Braun after hearing it was from "Bronn."
4. Ryan Braun reads TC daily.Big League Stew had another: "A Fox Sports South worker made the graphic as a joke, never intended it for broadcast, but it got out anyway. It happens to copy editors and newspaper writers all the time — remember when Domonic Brown was called an idiot? — so it can happen on television, too."
We have a couple of more:
- Maybe this was just a really, really, really late April Fool's Day joke?
- Maybe the FSS employee was inspired by the apparent prank by the SNY employee with the Family Guy clip and was trying to top him?
Really? You don't think this is a big deal? Well, that's not good. How are we supposed to trust anything that the broadcasters are telling us during the game anymore? What if people take them at their word and believe that Ryan Braun really said this, and this makes them think that Ryan Braun is an insensitive jerk - does Ryan Braun has a case for defamation of character? How is Chip Caray supposed to feel after reading a quote from a player who never said it? There are too many questions here that make it difficult to just sweep this matter under the rug and play it off as an "honest mistake". It makes the whole Fox Sports South operation look bad.
Big League Stew thinks Fox Sports South needs to "apologize to Braun and the rest of the Brewers. FSS can't just go around taking off-the-cuff Internet remarks before putting them into the mouths of players who never came up with them."
I agree with that assessment and will take it a step further. FSS also needs to apologize to Chip Caray (who read the false quote on the air), the Talking Chop (who they stole the quote from), and the fans watching the broadcast as well. This was pretty irresponsible and FSS needs to take this matter seriously, as SNY did when one of their employees made them looked bad. If that means FSS needs to fire somebody, so be it. At the very least, they need to make sure a proper system of checks is in place so no single employee can undermine an entire broadcast.
Related: Click Here to Shop for Braves Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!
The Bronn / Braun Conspiracy or TC on TV [Talking Chop]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
