Announcer Suspended for 'Racist' Comment To Return
Iowa play-by-play announcer Gary Dolphin, who was suspended last week for a comment some described as racist, will be reinstated after the end of the season.
Coach Fran McCaffery will join Dolphin on the sidelines for two games after being suspended for berating an official.
Hawkeye Sports Properties, the multimedia rights manager for the program, said Dolphin will return to cover Iowa’s spring football practice.
Dolphin, who has been with Iowa since 1996, will be the Hawkeyes’ football and men’s basketball announcer again next season.
Late in a 66-65 home loss to Maryland last week, Dolphin said the Terrapins’ Bruno Fernando, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound African-American who was born in Angola, “was King Kong at the end of the game.”
Here are full statements from Hawkeye Sports Properties and the University of Iowa on Gary Dolphin’s suspension, as well as the audio of him saying a Maryland player was “King Kong”: https://t.co/frttsLJDDn pic.twitter.com/ejUFHskB4b
— 1460 KXnO (@1460kxno) February 22, 2019
In a statement following his suspension, he indicated he was trying to describe the way Fernando took over the game.
“During the broadcast, I used a comparison when trying to describe a talented Maryland basketball player,” the 67-year-old announcer said. “In no way did I intend to offend or disparage the player.”
Many fans defended him on social media.
Gary dolphin is not racist. Gary is a wonderful human being, is a great open minded person. He doesn’t judge someone on the color of their skin. Gary dolphin is someone who would give Jackie Robinson or Arthur Ashe an opportunity in the 1950’s.
The world is going crazy & PC?— Luke Wickham (@lukewickham) February 23, 2019
Dear @uiowa , Enough of the nonsense. You are acting like infants. Not one damn thing racist about what Gary Dolphin said. Your ‘wokeness’ saddens me. #FreeDolph
— Tony Tindall (@tindallt) February 23, 2019
I want to say thank u to @IowaHoops bc u mean well. U want to protect the feelings of all members of ur student body. I get it. That said, pleas give Gary Dolphin the mic back. This is beyond overreaching. It’s obvious that he wasn’t trying to be racist. The metaphor is clear.
— Rashan Fray (@iTeach4aLiVin) February 22, 2019
Dolphin said Wednesday that he had hoped to return for the postseason in part so he could clear the air, but understands why he was suspended.
He also said that he will try to reach out to Fernando after the season.
“It was unintentional. But it was wrong,” Dolphin said. “Obviously I stepped over the line. I’ll own it. … I don’t plan to change my style. But I will tweak it. There’s no question about that.”
It was the second suspension for Dolphin this season. He sat out two games after being caught on an open microphone criticizing Iowa guard Maishe Dailey in a win over Pittsburgh in late November. Athletic director Gary Barta said that that incident factored into the decision to make Dolphin’s suspension run through the season.
“His comment, even though regardless of intent, was inappropriate and insensitive,” Barta said. “Moving forward, we can use this as an educational opportunity.”
McCaffery, meanwhile, was disciplined for yelling at an official in a hallway heading to the locker room following a 90-70 loss at Ohio State on Tuesday night. He and his son, point guard Connor McCaffery, received technical fouls in the second half against the Buckeyes.
McCaffery will miss games against Rutgers and Wisconsin. The Big Ten Conference tacked on a $10,000 fine for the university along with a public reprimand of McCaffery, who is in his ninth season at Iowa. The 22nd-ranked Hawkeyes (21-7, 10-7 Big Ten) have three regular-season games left.
Barta said that he supports his coach “100 percent,” and McCaffery, who was suspended a game for arguing with officials in 2014, apologized.
“I’m a very passionate person,” said McCaffery, who added that he’ll be allowed to celebrate Nicholas Baer during senior day ceremonies on Saturday, when Rutgers visits Iowa. “One thing I can assure you is that my players know and understand how passionate I am about them.”
The buzz that has surrounded Dolphin and McCaffery’s suspensions threatened to overshadow what has been a terrific season for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The Iowa men will almost certainly return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence, and the women’s program is expected to host the first two rounds as one of the top 16 teams in the field.
“Sometimes throughout the course of a season things happen. You deal with them,” McCaffery said.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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