Red Sox announcer facing backlash for on-air joke mocking Asian American general manager's name
WEEI Red Sox Radio Network announcer Sean McDonough drew criticism online for seemingly mocking San Francisco Giants executive Farhan Zaidi's name during a wild card game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.
What happened: The issue was first brought to the public's attention by Reuters tech correspondent Paresh Dave on Twitter on Wednesday, according to SF Gate.
Here’s audio from last night’s WEEI-FM radio call of the Red Sox-Yankees game where broadcaster Sean McDonough appears to mock Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi’s name. pic.twitter.com/fqvW0Yi5cv
— Grant Marek (@Grant_Marek) October 6, 2021
Eek Red Sox radio announcers talking Giants: "Their GM's name is high anxiety?"
"No, Far-han Za-idi"
— Paresh Dave (@peard33) October 6, 2021
McDonough, 59, was amazed by the Giants' 107th win on Sunday while talking to fellow play-by-play caster Will Flemming during a WEEI-FM radio call.
“A lot of people are surprised by the Red Sox's 92 wins. Tell me, who saw San Francisco’s 107 wins coming?" McDonough asked Flemming, to which the latter replied, “Maybe nobody outside of Farhan Zaidi and [Gabe] Kapler, they’ve just done an unbelievable job and who knows, maybe we can have a World Series reunion.”
“Their GM's name is 'High Anxiety'?" McDonough asked. Flemming laughed at his fellow caster’s reply and quickly returned to his play-by-play commentary. He then mentioned Zaidi’s name again but with greater emphasis.
Online backlash: McDonough’s comment during Tuesday night’s game broadcast drew outrage online, with some people calling for the announcer to make a public apology.
Be better, Sean McDonough. https://t.co/iIXBhVJ8q9
— Jay Sorgi (@jsorgi) October 7, 2021
Hey @WEEI, heard what your broadcaster Sean McDonough did to Farhan Zaidi's name on-air. Pls tell him that the sooner he apologizes, the less hassle it'll be for everyone, including (and maybe especially) himself.
— CJ (@CJNg8) October 7, 2021
Sean McDonough should have to apologize on live TV and reassure us that his grotesque actions do not represent who he is as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos ah you know the rest
— Steven Sinishtaj (@stevesinishtaj) October 7, 2021
Not a good look for Sean McDonough of @WEEI and @espn making fun of @SFGiants President Farhan Zaidi. As an alumnus of @waer883 and @NewhouseSU , he should do better.
— Howard Bischoff (@HowardBischoff) October 7, 2021
Shon Mcdonald, Shen Mcdonuts, Shan Macdonor said what?
Some white folks think their names are easier to pronounce? Some are not!
Let's start with all the variants of Kylie, Kaleigh, Kayleigh.
If we can pronounce SEAN MCDONOUGH, he can pronounce FARHAN ZAIDI. Or Google it. https://t.co/nI9uT67FRd pic.twitter.com/JNM3IJi7NI
— Alejandra 🏳️🌈 🇲🇽 (@aleximenez) October 7, 2021
Some people have also defended the announcer by labeling his action as an "innocent joke."
I really think this is a case of people looking to be outraged by something. Sean McDonough tried to make an innocent joke. At most it's disrespectful to Farhan Zaidi. But to read into as some kind of anti-Asian or anti-Muslim comment is really a stretch. Let's relax folks. 😳 https://t.co/1O4MtDEYVF
— Eric E. (@ItsMeDoublEE) October 6, 2021
Sean McDonough didn't mock his name. He either saw a play-on-hearing or was making an innocent joke.
Nothing to see here, move on.
— Love is in here somewhere #BlackLivesMatter (@astarkpatronus) October 6, 2021
Give me a F*********** break. Sean McDonough has always spoken his mind, whether on football or baseball broadcasts, and is always a class act. It's very clear he was making a joke that had NOTHING to do with race.
— Love is in here somewhere #BlackLivesMatter (@astarkpatronus) October 6, 2021
I'm pretty sure Sean McDonough, who's called MLB games for 35 years, knew the name of the Giants GM.
He was making a joke. Not a smart one, but he was making a joke.
This is a bit over the top. https://t.co/bWjv7FSxzP
— Sean Smyth (@smythsays) October 6, 2021
About the executive: Farhan Zaidi, the president of baseball operations for the Giants, is the first Muslim to become a general manager of any professional American sports franchise.
A Canadian-born Pakistani, Zaidi grew up in the Philippines and attended high school in Manila. He later traveled to the U.S. to attend MIT. Zaidi received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Zaidi began his MLB career as a baseball operations assistant after being hired by Oakland A’s Billy Beane and general manager David Forst before the 2005 season, SF Chronicle reported.
Zaidi was promoted to director of baseball operations in 2009 and later to assistant general manager/director of baseball operations in 2014, his MLB profile states.
He then spent four years as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ general manager, beginning in 2014, before moving to the Giants in 2018.
Featured Image via NBC Sports Bay Area & California (left), Golf.com (right)
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