Radio announced John Focke said he “mistyped” the slur when tweeting about a Jazz-Nuggets game last month.
The Hornets have fired radio broadcaster John Focke after he used a racial slur in a tweet last month.
Focke has repeatedly claimed he made a typo when tweeting about an Aug. 17 Jazz-Nuggets game. He told The Charlotte Observer that he intended to type “Nuggets” while quickly composing the tweet on his iPhone. However, he said he accidentally typed the N-word and did not read the tweet closely before posting it.
Charlotte suspended Focke indefinitely on Aug. 18 following the incident and said it planned to investigate the matter.
On Thursday, the Hornets issued a statement announcing Focke’s firing as a result of violating the team’s social media policy.
“The Charlotte Hornets announced today that John Focke will not return as the team’s radio broadcaster due to a violation of the organization’s social media policy. Since this is a personnel matter, the organization will not comment any further. The Hornets thank John for all his efforts during the 2019-20 NBA season.”
Focke previously covered the Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx before coming to the Hornets. Last month, he posted a statement on Twitter apologizing for the “mistyped” slur.
“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,” he wrote. “I have been sick to my stomach about it every [sic] since. I’m truly sorry that this happened and I apologize to those I offended.”
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