ESPN commentator Rod Gilmore called Oregon coach Mario Cristobal — who is Cuban-American — a “white man” and accused him of engaging in behavior that could be construed as racist after he yelled at a black player.
During the Oregon Ducks game on Saturday, the refs hit player Kris Hutson with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for breaking the rules and celebrating on the field after a play. The penalty pushed the Ducks back and out of field goal range just as the half was coming to an end.
Coach Cristobal was furious at Hutson and lit into him when the play was over. While this is a pretty common occurrence – especially outside pro sports — Cristobal’s tirade set ESPN’s Rod Gilmore off and into accusations that the “white” Cristobal had created a racial incident.
Gilmore was incensed during his commentary on Saturday, calling it “a bit too much.”
Fox Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb thought Gilmore’s “a bit much” commentary was odd and said so on Twitter. But Gilmore jumped on the tweet, doubled down on his comment, and even went further by making it about race.
Gilmore wrote: “Moreover, the image of a 51 year old White man berating a young Black man so publicly rubs a lot of us the wrong way. Especially w/all the racial injustice. Bad optics. U can deliver the lesson w/o flexing your power & control. It did not make Black parents I know happy.”
Just like magic, the ESPN commentator turned a coach of Cuban descent into a “white man” “flexing” his “power.”
Most saw it for what it was: a coach scolding a young player for making a dumb move. And that player realizing his error and saying “yes, sir,” to his coach.
Some on Twitter thought Gilmore’s race-baiting was absurd:
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