Nashville television sports anchor Dan Phillips was fired from WZTV Fox-17 after he performed a Prince-themed sports “tribute” to his “favorite musical artist” on live TV.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for the kind words, comments and positive feedback on this tribute I did to Prince last week. It really means a lot, Phillips wrote on his Facebook page. “Unfortunately, there were apparently some viewers, as well as management at the station, who did not feel the same way. They felt I was insensitive. And as a result, I was terminated today.”
Prince was pronounced dead on April 21. The 57-year-old rock legend died at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota.
Phillips said he was “devastated” by the death of Prince.
Now, the out-of-work sportscaster says he’s looking forward to “some exciting things.”
“I’m choosing to use this as a catalyst for some exciting things I’ve been working on for some time now. I’ll have many more details on this in coming days,” Phillips wrote. “For now, thanks again for all of your support. And if you need an old, washed-up sports guy for anything, please let me know!”
According to ABC News affiliate WFAA, WZTV Fox-17 news director Bryan McGuder has not returned requests for comment.
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