Thom Brennaman Hired By The CW For National College Football After Gay Slur Scandal

Thom Brennaman will be returning to the airwaves this fall as their lead play-by-play broadcaster for nationally televised college football games this coming season, according to The Athletic. 

Brennaman will make his season debut Aug. 31 when Oregon State meets Idaho State. 

Brennaman, age 60, was sidelined from broadcasting since 2020, when he made a homophobic slur on a hot microphone during a Cincinnati Reds game, thinking he was off the air

Brennaman was informed that his comment went live, and began an apology, only to revert to play-by-play mode when Nick Castellanos hit a home run. That moment became an infamous baseball social media meme ever since.

Brennaman was immediately taken off air by the Reds and a month later, announced his resignation.

“There are no words to describe how grateful I am that they’re rolling the dice,” Brennaman told The Athletic about his return to TV. “They don’t have to do this.”

The son of Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman, Thom Brennaman started doing play-by-play work in Major League Baseball in 1988. He’s covered the Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Reds in addition to doing national broadcasts for baseball and football.