Hockey announcer Doug McLeod made a mind-boggling comment during the Minnesota state tournament.
During a game between Blaine and White Bear Lake Thursday, McLeod said the White Bear fans might “get out the lynching ropes.”
You can watch the moment below.
I’m guessing this is probably what got Doug McLeod pulled from the broadcast this afternoon. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/l6luIKYQBM
— eli swanson (@eswany33) March 8, 2019
McLeod released the following statement about the incident to the Star Tribune late Friday afternoon:
As I have occasionally done, I went for a movie reference but, out of context, it sounded totally inappropriate. I said it. I own it. I was wrong. If you know me and my work, you know that I may be capable of bad humor but never bad intent.
The Star Tribune also pointed out that it’s unclear what movie he’s referring too. I’ve seen “Miracle,” the greatest hockey movie ever made, well over 100 times, and I can promise you there’s no “lynching ropes” comment in that film. (RELATED: Is The ‘Miracle On Ice’ The Greatest Sports Moment In American History?)
Now, I know it’s easy to jump on people in these situations, and it’s really easy to pile on the outrage. What McLeod said was incredibly stupid. There’s no other way to describe it.
You can’t be talking about lynching ropes during a broadcast. You’d think that’d just be common sense in 2019. I guess not. If you find yourself discussing lynchings or lynching ropes on television, then you’ve made some serious mistakes.
Having said that, there’s no real need to ruin a man’s career over one dumb comment. McLeod got pulled from the other state games, and he’ll probably be suspended for a bit from his Fox Sports role with the University of Minnesota.
That would seem to be fair. A message has to be sent, but let’s not pretend like he needs to lose his job and have his life ruined.
He said something very dumb. No question about it, and there will likely be consequences. However, last time I checked this is America, and we reward second chances to people who admit mistakes and take responsibility.
Let’s all take a moment to relax before getting whipped up into a frenzy over one comment during a Minnesota high school hockey game.
