HOMPHOBIC SLUR Skip through Gonzales to hear Packer's comment
Lead CBS college basketball announcer and noted curmudgeon Billy Packer doesn't exactly endear himself to viewers with his holier-than-thou announcing style. He certainly didn't do himself any favors after dropping an anti-gay slur on Friday's edition of The Charlie Rose Show. The slip-up came at the end of Rose's video interview with Packer, who was in Atlanta for the men's Final Four. "You always fag out on that one for me, you know," Packer told Rose after the host joked that he'd jump on a plane to be a runner for Packer.
Packer's remark comes at a rather testy time for homophobia in sports, following former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway's now-infamous "I Hate Gay People" tirade, as well as New York Daily News gossip columnist Ben Widdicombe's curious blind item from April 2, in which he claims an active NFL player is considering coming out (a first for an active player).
This isn't the first time Packer's mouth has gotten him into trouble.
During a 1996 broadcast, he took heat for calling then Georgetown point guard Allen Iverson a "tough monkey." Four years later, he issued an apology to students at Duke after allegedly telling two female ushers who had asked to see his press credentials, "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball games? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?"
Calls to CBS seeking comment on Packer's remarks were not immediately returned.
Lead CBS college basketball announcer and noted curmudgeon Billy Packer doesn't exactly endear himself to viewers with his holier-than-thou announcing style. He certainly didn't do himself any favors after dropping an anti-gay slur on Friday's edition of The Charlie Rose Show. The slip-up came at the end of Rose's video interview with Packer, who was in Atlanta for the men's Final Four. "You always fag out on that one for me, you know," Packer told Rose after the host joked that he'd jump on a plane to be a runner for Packer.
Packer's remark comes at a rather testy time for homophobia in sports, following former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway's now-infamous "I Hate Gay People" tirade, as well as New York Daily News gossip columnist Ben Widdicombe's curious blind item from April 2, in which he claims an active NFL player is considering coming out (a first for an active player).
This isn't the first time Packer's mouth has gotten him into trouble.
During a 1996 broadcast, he took heat for calling then Georgetown point guard Allen Iverson a "tough monkey." Four years later, he issued an apology to students at Duke after allegedly telling two female ushers who had asked to see his press credentials, "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men's basketball games? Why don't you go find a women's game to let people into?"
Calls to CBS seeking comment on Packer's remarks were not immediately returned.
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