The radio voice for the Charlotte Hornets has been suspended after he wrote the N-word in a tweet about Monday’s playoff game between the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.
John Focke, in his first season as play-by-play announcer for the team, deleted the tweet and apologized, admitting that he inserted the N-word in place of the word “Nuggets,” but explained it as a typo.
“Earlier today I made a horrific error while attempting to tweet about the Denver-Utah game,” he wrote in a follow-up message Monday night. “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.”
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Focke, who is white, sent the tweet Monday as the Nuggets beat the Jazz in overtime in Game 1 of a restructured Western Conference playoff inside the NBA bubble in Orlando.
Screen shots of the tweet showed Focke wrote: “Shot making in this Jazz-[Nuggets] game is awesome! Murray and Mitchell going back and forth what a game!”
The racial slur was written in place of “Nuggets.”
Focke will remain on indefinite suspension while the Hornets continue to investigate, the team said in a statement, according to ESPN.
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“The Hornets are aware of the social media post by radio broadcaster John Focke. As an organization we do not condone this type of language.”
The statement did not address whether Focke’s weekly podcast for the Hornets’ website would be affected.
Focke was not working the game. The team’s record was not good enough for an invite to the NBA Playoffs this season, which was shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Previously, Focke worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.
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