ESPN broadcaster slammed for sushi dig at | Golf News

John Maginnes, a former golfer and present ESPN analyst, has come beneath fire for an inappropriate comment directed at Hideki Matsuyama.

This 12 months’s Players Championship noticed a number of surprises, with notable PGA Tour names corresponding to Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa, and Ludvig Aberg failing to make the cut. Matsuyama’s event additionally ended prematurely after the second spherical on account of a disappointing begin.

Matsuyama concluded his first spherical one-over-par, however it was during his putt for bogey on the 14th gap that Maginnes made a remark stay on ESPN+ that appeared to stereotype the Japanese golfer.

“He hasn’t smiled yet,” Maginnes remarked about Matsuyama’s poor efficiency. “Bad sushi. This is just a brutal round of golf so far.”

The former Masters champion was four-over after the initial 5 holes and was noticed shaking his head at TPC Sawgrass. Although no additional feedback had been made about Maginnes’ assertion, viewers of the ESPN broadcast shortly took to social media to voice their displeasure.

One fan posted on X: “Hey @espn, your @ESPNPlus commentator saying ‘must have been bad sushi’ referring to Matsuyama being +4 through 5 holes is the most insane, unprofessional thing I’ve ever heard.” Another added: “Announcer for @PGATOUR just said ‘bad sushi’ talking about Deki. That’s crazy,”.

“I had to rewind to make sure I heard it correctly, holy hell,” one shocked viewer reacted. So far, neither Maginnes nor ESPN have commented on the incident, regardless of it sparking upset amongst golf fans.

Matsuyama is a extremely revered determine within the golf world, having made historical past in 2021 as the primary Japanese participant to win the Masters. He has additionally achieved top-ten finishes within the different three majors and has 11 PGA Tour wins beneath his belt.

This is just not an remoted incident for ESPN, because the community just lately confronted one other golf commentary mishap. During the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday, an offensive audio clip was inadvertently performed on air.

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As Xander Schauffele tried to achieve the inexperienced on the sixteenth gap, the ESPN+ announcers had been interrupted by a weird and unrelated audio file.

The broadcast abruptly featured the assertion, “Colonel Sanders is clearly very offended at Donald Trump, however why?”, adopted by an awkward silence. The announcers swiftly refocused on the motion, slicing to Russell Henley on the seventeenth inexperienced.

While scorching mics typically seize ambient noise and discussions from the course, the offending audio clip appeared to originate from an inappropriate online video. It was traced to a political account on Instagram, identified for posting pro-Donald Trump content material.

The video in query concerned Democratic politician Al Green, who was ejected from the U.S. Capitol on March 4. The footage went on to label him as a ‘Ghetto Colonel Sanders,’ an offensive time period with racial implications.

Green was commanded to go away the home chamber during U.S. President Donald Trump‘s joint handle to Congress, amidst jeers from Republican members.