The sports announcer who got caught calling an Oklahoma girl’s basketball team the N-word after the multiracial team knelt for the national anthem is blaming his egregious error on his diabetes.
The man took great umbrage when the Norman High School teens, comprised of White and Black players, knelt during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” on March 11, 2021, and quickly ripped off a profanity-laced tirade. He believed his mic was off when he uttered the vulgarities.
After national outrage cascaded down on the city of Norman, Oklahoma, the man identified himself as Matt Rowan, a former youth pastor. Rowan said in a statement to NBC that he believed his microphone was off.
“During the Norman High School girls basketball game against Midwest City, I made inappropriate and racist comments believing that the microphone was off; however, let me state immediately that is no excuse. Such comments should have never been uttered,” he said in the statement, according to NBC.
“I have not only embarrassed and disappointed myself I have embarrassed and disappointed my family and my friends.”
Many observers are looking askance at Rowan since he laughably attributed his “hurtful” comments to his blood-sugar levels.
“I will state that I suffer type 1 diabetes and during the game my sugar was spiking. While not excusing my remarks, it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I become disoriented and often say things that are not appropriate as well as hurtful,” he said. “I do not believe that I would have made such horrible statements absent my sugar spiking.”
By the way, the girl’s team went on to win the state championship.
There are a lot of symptoms of high blood sugar, racism is not one of them. https://t.co/q9l3Kd49Ne
— JDRF (@JDRF) March 13, 2021
Check out the response to Rowan’s outlandish excuse along with the full report on the next page.
