ESPN Cleveland analyst Tony Grossi has been suspended indefinitely following comments he made about Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. During a discussion about the league’s QBs, Grossi referred to Mayfield as a “fucking midget” when he thought he was off the air but a hot microphone picked up every word he said.
You can hear the slip up at the tail end of the video embedded below.
Grossi got under Mayfield’s skin last October when he questioned the QB about one of the Browns’ pointless drives in their loss to the New England Patriots. At the time, Mayfield lashed out, “That’s the dumbest question you could ask. What? Jesus, Tony.”
ESPN Cleveland issued the following statement regarding Grossi’s comments on Tuesday.
“The term Tony used is a derogatory slur to describe Little People. Good Karma Brands will not tolerate derogatory language that demeans others or groups of people,” the company said Tuesday in a media release.
“We are addressing this matter with Tony directly, and while we normally do not comment on personnel matters, we do want to share that we have made the decision to immediately and indefinitely suspend Tony Grossi. In addition, we will pursue sensitivity and inclusion training for everyone on our content teams across our company,” Good Karma Brands stated.
For what it’s worth, Mayfield is listed as 6’1.