For the second straight year, a CBS Sports broadcaster has found himself in hot water during the NCAA Tournament.
CBS play-by-play voice Andrew Catalon, making his debut on NCAA Tournament coverage, referred to a Polish college basketball player as a “Polack” during Friday’s Gonzaga/Oklahoma State game. Referring to repeated fouling of Gonzaga C Przemek Karnowski, Catalon suggested that Oklahoma State was using the “Hack-a-Polack” strategy.
Catalon has offered multiple apologies, including one to Karnowski directly. CBS Sports does not plan to suspend him for Sunday’s action, Sports Illustrated reporter Richard Deitsch reported via Twitter.
The voice of Olympic curling on the NBC family of networks, Catalon is considered a rising star in the sports media industry. He joined CBS/Turner Sports’ NCAA Tournament coverage this year, filling the vacancy left by Tim Brando.
As mentioned previously, this is not the first time an NCAA Tournament broadcaster has caused controversy for a poor attempt at humor. Last year, Doug Gottlieb raised eyebrows when he said he was bringing “the white man’s perspective” to the networks’ studio coverage. Of course, Gottlieb did not use a racial or ethnic slur.
(Fri. news from Deadspin, twitter.com/richarddeitsch [verified])
