Cincinnati.com · Aug 20, 2020
Paul Daugherty on Thom Brennaman slur: Words matter. Words create perceptions. Too often, perception is reality.
On a Saturday night in December of 1988, Marty Brennaman pulled on his headset at Freedom Hall in Louisville and prepared to work a televised basketball game between the University of Kentucky and Austin Peay.
In those days, the country was not yet blanketed with sports programming. Not everyone could watch just about anything. If you wanted to watch the ‘Cats, chances are you owned a satellite dish. Brennaman was working this particular game for UK’s statewide network.
As he adjusted his headset and readied to rehearse the opening of the telecast, his director said jokingly, "Make sure your hair’s all right, you’ve got all those Kentucky fans watching you."