http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/01/1 ... r-slip-up/
Mike Greenberg ESPN television anchor and co-host of the "Mike and Mike in the Morning" show, accidentally used a racist slur on-air Monday morning and has since offered a full apology.
Coming out of a commercial break, Greenberg said to the audience: "Mike and the Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio, talking football with you on this Martin Luther Coon King Jr. holiday ..."
Greenberg's apology, which was posted on the ESPN Media Zone site, is below: "I just came home from the Knicks game and found out about the mess that was created by my garbling a sentence on our show this morning; I apologize for not addressing it sooner.
And I'm sorry that my talking too fast - and slurring my words - might have given people who don't know our show the wrong impression about us, and about me.
I feel horrible about that, because nothing could be further away from who I am and what our show is about.
I would never say anything like that, not in public, or in private, or in the silence of my own mind, and neither would anyone associated with our show, and I'm very sorry that my stumble this morning gave so many people the opposite impression."26
Share From my perspective, Greenberg's explanation makes sense, and it's good that he took the time to apologize before this possibly caused more of a stir. As anyone who's done a live broadcast can attest, there's a lot that can go wrong when speaking in front of a mic or camera. Being tired or distracted can increase the chance of a slip-up, especially when doing a show as early in the morning as Greenberg's.
There's also a difference between an innocent mistake and one done with intent when it comes to deragatory remarks. You can speculate all you want as to the reasons for Greenberg's mistake (e.g. Freudian slip), but at the end of the day it's still speculation, and Greenberg's reputation prior to this has never been questioned.
As the blog You Been Blinded pointed out, an ABC affiliate's weatherman, Rob Blair, was fired in 2005 for uttering the exact same phrase as Greenberg on the air. His apology wasn't enough to save his job.
Given the circumstances here, it's possible that Greenberg could receive a short suspension from ESPN, but shouldn't face harsh punishment.