Chip Caray avoids suspension after anti-gay slur during Cardinals' live Pride promo termed as ‘clear accident'

Time of India

22-06-2025

Chip Caray (Image Source: Getty)
During the latest Saturday live broadcast from the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Cincinnati Reds, veteran Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray went on air to read a promo for Disability Pride Night and shocked viewers by sounding off an anti-gay slur.
It delivered its biggest punch during the fourth inning on Bally Sports Midwest, then let 31 seconds of mostly dead air simmer in between, leaving fans and viewers to scramble for clarity and reassurance.
Silence and aftermath as error unfolds
Caray was reading a scripted promo for the Cardinals' Disability Pride Night, which is July 10. Among the giveaways at the event is a custom team hat will be and will incorporate the Disability Pride flag and braille lettering.
But today, when he drifted into the word flag, he told Caray that it sounded as though he were inadvertently uttering a homophobic slur, which was a slip of the tongue, it seemed.
Silence, long and uncomfortable, followed the slip. Caray, along with his partner commentator, Brad Thompson, went silent for more than 30 seconds in the broadcast booth. Eventually, Thompson returned to the play-by-play to try to push the broadcast along, breaking the tension.
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Footage of the incident rapidly circulated on social media, with viewers claiming to be divided about whether the error was made on purpose or a mis-speech. Fans rushed to Caray's defense, arguing that the flub was an accident, not a deliberate slur. Many Reddit users called it a 'clear accident," while others noted how cringe the moment of silence that followed was.
No suspension for veteran broadcaster
Those comments, alarming as they are, won't cost Caray his job or even a suspension at the hands of the Cardinals or the radio broadcast network.
A Cardinals spokesman later said the error was simply a mistake and there was no intent to portray it that way. Also, the network had Caray's back, which means live reads are open to human error, and especially error under pressure.
The incident brought natural comparisons to a much worse event in 2020 when Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was caught on a hot mic using the same slur, which ended Brennaman's career.
Caray, however, is receiving a softer response than Brennaman, given the context and his stopping himself mid-sentence.
Chip Caray, who is the grandson of Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and the son of Skip Caray, has been the Cardinals' lead TV voice since 2023. Many consider this moment a blip on his broadcasting resume, though, given his professionalism and sports pedigree.
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