Baltimore Orioles Slammed for ‘Horrendous Decision’ to Suspend Announcer Who Mentioned Losses: ‘Just a Shame’

The Orioles reportedly suspended Kevin Brown for mentioning the team's losing streak against a rival while discussing their turnaround success this year

The Baltimore Orioles’ decision to suspend one of its announcers over mentioning the team’s losing streak against a rival has left a “horrendous” stain on the team’s otherwise storybook season, according to one fellow broadcaster.

"It’s a horrendous decision by the Orioles,” New York Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said Monday. “I don’t know what they were thinking, but they got exactly the reaction that they deserve. It’s just a shame because the Orioles are playing so well and now they’ve diverted attention from that and now made themselves a laughing stock."

The Athletic reported Monday that the Orioles had suspended their play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown for referencing the team’s turnaround success against the Tampa Bay Rays, a division rival. Baltimore has struggled to win against the Rays in recent years, specifically when playing away games in Tampa Bay, losing 15-straight series until late last month when the Orioles finally won.

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Brown had made note of the team’s change in fortune, referencing their history against Tampa Bay in a pregame segment that appeared to highlight the team’s overall improvement. The Orioles are currently leading the American League’s eastern division after finishing in either last or second-to-last place in each of the past six seasons.

Brown, who has been Baltimore’s play-by-play announcer for the last five years, noted that Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay has been “maybe the toughest ballpark” for the Orioles to play in over the past few seasons.

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However, Brown appeared upbeat when he said the Orioles had “a chance to do something special” if they won their upcoming game because it would mean they won their four-game series against the Rays. The Orioles ultimately did win, beating the Rays 5-3 and winning their first series there since 2017.

But Brown’s seemingly innocent pregame segment did not sit well with Baltimore’s management, according to The Athletic, who reportedly suspended him afterwards. Brown has not appeared on an Orioles television broadcast since the July 23 game.

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Cohen, the Mets’ announcer, was among Brown’s fellow broadcasters who slammed the Orioles over the decision while calling him "one of the great young talents in broadcasting,"

“Let me just say one thing to Baltimore Orioles management — you draped yourself in humiliation when you fired Jon Miller and you’re doing it again," Cohen said during the Mets’ game Monday night, referencing another incident in 1996 when the Orioles punished a broadcaster over commentary they viewed as too critical.

"And if you don’t want Kevin Brown, there are 29 other teams who do,” Cohen added.

Robert Griffin III, the former NFL quarterback who now works as an ESPN analyst, tweeted that Brown "SHOULD NOT have been suspended by the Orioles." "He was doing his job, stating facts and telling the truth," Griffin said.

Chicago White Sox play-by-play man Jason Benetti, who also broadcasts games for ESPN, called Brown "truly one of the best play-by-play announcers in the country." "If the Orioles don’t want him, another team’ll be elated," he tweeted.

New York Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay also spoke out about Brown’s suspension on his 98.7 ESPN talk show this week, calling out Orioles owner John Angelos.

“If John Angelos, the owner of the Orioles didn’t like that, then he’s thin-skinned, he’s unreasonable, and he should actually get a call from Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball because it’s unconscionable that you would actually suspend a really good broadcaster for no reason whatsoever,” Kay said. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”

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