St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Chip Caray accidentally uses slur during broadcast

During the top of the fourth inning of Saturday afternoon's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, long-time announcer Chip Caray had an accidental slip of the tongue during an advertisement for a future promotional day for the Cardinals.

Caray was advertising Disability Pride Night for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he accidentally used a homophobic slur mid-sentence. Caray immediately corrected himself and finished the promotion. 31 seconds of silence immediately followed his slip-up.

Caray did not address the mistake while on air, and color commentator Brad Thompson continued the broadcast after the long silence. Caray did remain in the booth for the remainder of the game.

While Caray has had his fair share of NSFW calls, he has never given anyone reason to believe that he isn't an upstanding individual.

After the game, a spokesperson for FanDuel Sports Network Midwest addressed the situation. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It was an unintentional misspeak while reading a promo, and (Caray) immediately corrected himself. His integrity throughout a long career speaks to his character. While unintentional and no offense was intended, it’s unfortunate and we apologize to anyone who was offended."

“Knowing Chip, I am sure he is as upset as anyone.”

Caray's immediate correction of his mistake followed by a long duration of silence is evidence of his recognition of the mistake and his remorse.

Caray has been the Cardinals' lead broadcaster since 2023, but he's been in the announcing business for well over 30 years. Caray is most known for his time with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. His record is spotless, and he clearly meant no harm in his statement.

Baseball announcers are asked to be on for over two hours a day during a 162-game season. It's a wonder mistakes like these aren't common throughout the sport.

The most notable announcing slip ups include former Reds announcer Thom Brennaman using a homophobic slur on a hot mic while he thought he was off the air. Athletics announcer Glen Kuiper also used a racist slur in 2023 when discussing the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.

Disability Pride Night will take place on Thursday, July 10th. With the purchase of a special themed ticket, fans will also receive a Cardinals disability pride hat that includes "Cardinals" in braille on the bill along with the disability flag. The flag includes five different colors in diagonal lines that symbolize various disabilities: red stripe for physical disabilities, gold for neurodiversity, white for invisible or undiagnosed disabilities, blue for emotional or psychiatric disabilities, and green for sensory disabilities.