A tennis commentator for ESPN has been fired from the network after a comment he made was misconstrued as racist by offended viewers.
Doug Adler was covering Venus Williams’ winning play against Stefanie Voegele, and described Williams’ aggressive style as a “guerrilla effect.” Offended viewers who misheard him thought he meant “gorilla” and took their outrage to social media.
The clip can be heard below:
Adler, a former professional tennis player who played between 1979 and 1981, made his remarks in the second round of Williams’ Australian Open match this past Wednesday. The commentator apologized for his remarks, but clarified he meant “guerrilla,” a Spanish word used to describe warriors who conduct asymmetrical warfare against stronger opponents.
ESPN, however, laid the blame entirely on Adler rather than offended viewers, stating that the commentator “should have been more careful in his word selection,” presumably due to the racist implications of the word “gorilla” with regards to African Americans (although the word guerrilla has no etymological relation to the word gorilla which is believed to derive from an ancient African word).
“During an Australian Open stream on ESPN3, Doug Adler should have been more careful in his word selection,” the statement read. “He apologized and we have removed him from his remaining assignments.”
Due to racial sensitivities, gorillas have become a no-go in public dialogue of late. Last September, Clemson University banned all references to and jokes about Harambe, the slain Cincinnati gorilla, for promoting racism and rape culture. Harambe was shot and killed in 2016 after a small boy fell into his zoo enclosure. For unknown reasons, he posthumously became the subject of jokes and Internet memes were created in memory of its death.
Venus Williams was quick to blow off the Adler controversy, preferring instead to talk about her career during a press session after her victory over China’s Duan Ying-Ying on Friday.
“I pay attention and address situations that are noteworthy,” said Williams. “That’s been my past record, clearly.”
Adler’s faux pas echoes a 2007 controversy surrounding famed radio commentator Don Imus, who characterized the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “rough girls” and “nappy-headed hoes”. He defended his remarks as a term rap artists use to describe black women. He later apologized for the remarks but a simulcast of his radio show was dropped by liberal cable network MSNBC. He was also sued by one of the players on the team, but the suit was later dropped.
However, the difference is that while Don Imus perfectly meant what he said, Doug Adler’s words were simply misheard.
Between potential “microaggressions” and the offense-seeking behavior of millennials, broadcasting has become a dangerous minefield no commentator will be able to navigate safely.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken game critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.