{"id":65544,"date":"2025-12-19T20:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65544\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T20:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:11:09","slug":"philadelphia-flyers-apologize-after-tim-saunders-hot-mic-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65544\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Flyers Apologize After Tim Saunders’ Hot Mic Comment"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Flyers have suspended radio play-by-play man Tim Saunders for two games after a hot mic<\/a> caught him jokingly asking someone for a sexual favor during a media timeout in the Flyers\u2019 game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, December 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of the inappropriate comment made during last night\u2019s radio broadcast in the TV timeout of the Flyers-Sabres game,\u201d the team said in a statement<\/a> shared via social media on Friday, December 19. \u201cThese remarks do not reflect the standards of conduct or values we expect from anyone associated with our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement continued, \u201cEffective immediately, the Flyers, along with our radio partners, 97.5 The Fanatic, have issued a two-game suspension while we address the matter with all parties involved. We take this matter very seriously and sincerely apologize to our listeners, fans and all those affected by these comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident occurred with around 10 minutes remaining in the third period, about 20 seconds after Saunders, 63, threw the 97.5 The Fanatic broadcast to commercial. While dead air filled most of the first seconds of the timeout \u2014 except for a brief interlude of Saunders seeming to sing to himself \u2014 the veteran sportscaster suddenly says, \u201cWhile you\u2019re down there, would you mind b***ing me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Sports
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n Related: Sports Radio Host Mike Francesa Caught Berating His Staff on Hot Mic Rant<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tSports radio host Mike Francesa was caught belittling his crew in a hot mic moment that aired on live television.\u00a0 Francesa, 70, had a disagreement with staff members on \u201cThe Mike Francesa Podcast,\u201d which airs on BetRivers Network. \u201cWho\u2019s correcting me?\u201d Francesa said to members of the control room during the Friday, March 14 episode. [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

Color commentator Todd Fedoruk replies, \u201cI think we\u2019re still on the air, Tim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saunders is then heard laughing before he says, \u201cNo we\u2019re not, are we? Are we? Do you have us? Talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saunders will miss the Flyers\u2019 next two games, one at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers on Saturday, December 20, and one at home against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, December 22. He will return the next night when the Flyers visit the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

A team source told The Athletic<\/a> that Flyers\u2019 director of broadcasting and content, Brian Smith, will fill in for Saunders during his suspension.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"SNL
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n Related: Has \u2018SNL\u2019 Ever Apologized? The Show’s History With Subtly Saying Sorry<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tAn apology from Saturday Night Live? You better believe it. The sketch comedy show is known for pushing the boundaries and making people uncomfortable but sometimes \u2014 rarely \u2014 creator Lorne Michaels and certain cast members have apologized for their words and actions on the show. In April 2025, White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

Saunders has not addressed the incident publicly as of Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Saunders has been on the call for Flyers games since he took over as lead play-by-play voice in 1997. It was his first major professional sports gig after previously calling games in minor league hockey<\/a> and independent baseball.<\/p>\n

Embarrassing as the moment may have been for Saunders, hot mic moments like these are nothing new in sports \u2014 even at the highest level.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Jimmy
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n Related: Jimmy Fallon\u2019s Ups and Downs Over the Years<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJimmy Fallon has had a long career as a comedian and talk show host \u2014 but not without controversy. Fallon began his career on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004 before landing his own talk show titled Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2009. The series lasted until 2013 when it was announced that [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

One of the most famous instances came in 2020 when former Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was caught using a homophobic slur on a hot mic during a broadcast. Brennaman\u2019s apology went viral when it was interrupted by a Nick Castellanos<\/a> home run, which became an instant meme.<\/p>\n

\t\tThank You!<\/p>\n

You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n

Brennaman, 62, apologized for the comment, which came during the first game of a doubleheader. He was pulled from the broadcast during the second game and was suspended indefinitely. Brennaman eventually resigned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cThat is not who I am and never has been. I like to think maybe I could have some people who can back that up. I am very, very sorry and I beg for your forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brennaman is now the lead play-by-play announcer for Atlantic Coast Conference football games on The CW.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Philadelphia Flyers have suspended radio play-by-play man Tim Saunders for two games after a hot mic caught…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1681,69,71,70,726],"class_list":{"0":"post-65544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-philadelphia","10":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","11":"tag-philadelphia-news","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}