Haddadi remarks cost Clippers duo

AP ^

[ConservativeStatement]

LOS ANGELES -- Clippers longtime play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith were suspended one game by the Fox Sports Prime Ticket cable network for their comments about Memphis center Hamed Haddadi.

Lawler and Smith made their off-the-cuff comments about the Iranian-born center during Wednesday night's telecast from Memphis. The on-air banter offended a viewer who e-mailed Fox to complain.

[ConservativeStatement]

Who's your ha-daddy?

[Glenn]

Welcome to Canada via Britain via Iran.

[Krankor]

I thought it was pretty funny.

[doc1019]

Over one complaint?

[NativeNewYorker]

Smith pronounced Iranian as "Eye-ranian," a pronunciation that offended the viewer who complained.

This is so far outside reality, it beggars belief.

[gwilhelm56]

Where do I send MY COMPLAINT!!!!???

if it only took 1 or 2 complaints to get them suspended... I’ll bet 100,000 complaints won’t get them back.

[NativeNewYorker]

"a" viewer

So was that "a" viewer, pronounced like the word BAY, or "a" viewer, pronounced like DUH?

[NotSoModerate]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That was one of the funniest exchanges I’ve ever read by basketball announcers. And the person complaining was mad because they pronounced iranian as “EYE-ranian”. Give me a break. That’s how I pronounce it. You won’t catch me talking like Obama, saying it like “E-rawnian”.

[Yackma]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!

The one caller: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. LMAO!!!!!!

[Venturer]

Gee, and I call Arab’s Ay-Rabs.

What would have happened if they had called someone a Knee- Grow.

Or an Eye-Talian?

[Sunshine Sister]

Let’s see............which one of those high falutin’ lawyers will be representing the complainer probably at tax payer expense?

[VicVega]

One offended viewer response is a one game suspension, two responses and you go before the firing squad.

[DemforBush]

“Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.” (Smith pronounced Iranian as “Eye-ranian,” a pronunciation that offended the viewer who complained.)”

Uh, seriously. Is that anything to get offended over?

As for the rest of the remarks, eh. I thought they were kinda corny and not particularly funny, but neither do I see anything hateful or malicious in the shtick.

Some people in this world really need to lighten up a little.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Political correctness is going to be the undoing of America. Ralph and Mike are the only people that make Clipper games worth watching(And Im saying this as a diehard Laker fan) I read the transcript, it was NOT offensive at all. Funny how they consider what they said as offensive but Hassan went around saying how he wanted to chop off the heads of infidels and no one could care less.

[MuttTheHoople]

Dirka burkha jihad jihad

[machogirl]

wow, i pronounce it that way.

[xp38]

I am offended whenever someone in sports says they played good instead of well. Can we suspend something like 90% of the sports community?

[Chode]

color analyst... the hell is that???