Add Al Michaels to the list of broadcasters outraged by the Orioles’ treatment of announcer Kevin Brown.
The legendary broadcaster and current “Thursday Night Football” play-by-play man ripped into the person who decided to reportedly suspend Brown over rather benign comments about the Orioles’ success in Tampa this year compared to past seasons.
“The Orioles have won more games against [the Rays] this season than the last two combined,” Brown said during a recent broadcast of a game between the Orioles and Rays, which reportedly ruffled the feathers of team ownership.
The fact that the comment was nothing more than a mere fact, enraged broadcasters across the league, including the TV voices of both the Mets and Yankees.
Michaels joined the angry contingent and sounded off during a Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
“When I heard and read about it Jeremy, I thought that it was either a joke or there was something much more insidious behind the suspension,” Michaels told Jeremy Schaap. “And now that I realize that it had everything to do with what was said about Tampa Bay and playing the Rays.
“I agree, there should be a suspension here. They should suspend the doofus that suspended Kevin Brown.”
The person Michaels likely has the issue with is Orioles owner John Angelos, who is the one who had Brown taken off the air, according to The Athletic.
The Orioles had denied earlier in the week when the story first became public that Brown had been suspended and told multiple outlets that he would return to the booth.
Brown will return on Friday when Baltimore begins a West Coast road trip in Seattle, the Baltimore Banner reported.
Orioles fans were equally as outraged as Michaels and the broadcasters around the league and voiced their displeasure during a Tuesday game at Camden Yards with signs and chants of “Free Kevin Brown” ringing out around the park.
The chants were loud enough that they were heard on the TV and radio broadcasts.
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