Dallas Braden explains lack of reaction to Glen Kuiper using racial slur on MLB broadcast

Oakland A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper is under fire for using a racial slur while on the air. Now, his broadcast partner Dallas Braden has explained why he didn’t react to Kuiper using the n-word in the moment.

The incident occurred during a game in Kansas City. There, Kuiper was breaking down what the pair had done that day and seemingly misspoke while saying they went to the Negro League Museum. You can view the video here.

Dallas Braden, sitting next to him, doesn’t react to the slur. That caught some fans by surprise. However, according to Braden, there’s a good reason for this. He never heard the slur being used and only found out about it while Kuiper was later apologizing on air.

As Dallas Braden explained, he had a producer in his ear who he was listening to at the time. This kept his focus and made him miss the slur.

“At the time of the incident, I was not aware that anything in the broadcast was amiss,” Braden explained. “The nuances of live television mean that sometimes we, as broadcasters, miss some of what you, our audiences, hear. We have producers speaking in our ears about what is next, we are formulating our words to articulate our thoughts, we are moving direction from camera to camera, we are waiting for cues, we are checking sound.”