The Charlotte Hornets have indefinitely suspended radio play-by-play announcer John Focke after a tweet he sent Monday which included the N-word.
“The Charlotte Hornets are aware of the recent social media post by radio broadcaster John Focke. As an organization, we do not condone this type of language,” the Hornets’ statement said via Twitter.
“John has been suspended indefinitely as we investigate the matter more closely.”
Focke, who just completed his first season with the Hornets, was tweeting about the Utah Jazz-Denver Nuggets playoff game Monday afternoon. The tweet included the N-word instead of “Nuggets.”
“Shot making in this Jazz-(N-word) game is awesome! Murray and Mitchell going back and forth what a game!” the tweet read.
Focke apologized on his Twitter account around 10 p.m. Monday night, and again in an interview with Observer columnist Scott Fowler on Tuesday.
Focke called his error “a horrible mistake” and blamed it on trying to post his thoughts on Twitter too quickly without rereading his post first. He said he never uses the N-word and simply mis-typed the word “Nuggets.”
It was not an “autocorrect” error, Focke added.
His apology tweet Monday night read:
“Earlier today I made a horrific error while attempting to tweet about the Denver-Utah game. I don’t know how I mistyped, I had (and have) no intention of ever using that word.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been sick to my stomach about it ever since. I’m truly sorry that this happened and I apologize to those I offended.”
Focke previously worked for the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA Minnesota Lynx. In addition to serving as Hornets’ play-by-play announcer, he does a weekly podcast for the team’s website.
He replaced Chris Kroeger, who was unexpectedly dropped from the Hornets’ broadcast team in March of 2019, months after getting the job. The Hornets declined to discuss the reason for Kroeger’s departure. Longtime Hornets broadcaster Steve Martin, who retired after the 2017-18 season, filled in on radio the rest of that season before Focke was hired.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 10:46 PM.
