Savannah Bananas player faceplants on CNN after brutal backflip attempt

New York Post

24-07-2025

Maybe Robert Anthony Cruz just slipped on a banana.
The Savannah Bananas player — known as Coach RAC — embarrassed himself in shocking and hilarious fashion Thursday, faceplanting live on a segment of 'CNN News Central' after attempting a backflip.
Cruz stepped into an open area in the show's studio to attempt the stunt, but he didn't get enough lift on his flip and landed with a thud on the floor, as one onlooker in the studio softly exclaimed, 'Oh Jesus.'
An awkward silence ensued for the next couple of moments as a stunned Cruz sat on his knees and eventually allowed an incredulous smile.
'That, what you just saw there, is a brand-new twist on America's favorite pastime,' said CNN host John Berman as Kate Bolduan stood silent, trying to hold back her laughter as she held her face.
The clip instantly went viral on social media, with dozens cracking jokes at the absurd moment.
3 Robert Anthony Cruz faceplanted on CNN.
x/BaileyCarlin
'Not the same footing as that natural gas,' quipped one user on X.
'That's gotta be so embarrassing,' wrote another. 'Flopped like a banana.'
'Should have played dead,' said a third.
Others questioned whether or not the moment was staged to go viral, but the shocked reactions of the CNN hosts and Cruz himself made it clear that the flopped flip was very real.
Cruz, 26, is a former Nationals prospect who played his college baseball at Biola University before joining the Bananas, the uber-popular exhibition team that has risen to prominence in the last few years.
3 RobertAnthony Cruz with the Bananas on July 13, 2024.3 Savannah Bananas dancing 1st base coach Maceo Harrison flips over Bananas mascot, Split, during Banana Fest on Saturday February 25, 2023 at Historic Grayson Stadium.
Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The player was on CNN to promote the team in a segment called 'Going Bananas.'
Cruz later explained the incident in a video on his Instagram account, which has 755,000 followers.
'They say all press is good press, huh? Well, you've probably seen the video. Your boy is bouncing around the internet like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert,' said Cruz, who went on to explain that the CNN crew asked him backstage if he had 'any tricks up his sleeve.'
Cruz told the producers he'd do a backflip — he's known for back-flipping while catching fly balls in Bananas games and said he has done 'tens of thousands of backflips in my life.'
'I had zero reason to doubt my abilities,' Cruz said. 'Anyways, I'm standing on the stage, I get the countdown, it's time. I send the clip. Next thing I know, I am on the floor and I'm rattled.'