Oklahoma City Thunder Announcer Suspended After ‘Cotton-Pickin’ Mind’ Comment About Player

Brian Davis says that the one-game timeout is “an appropriate consequence for my actions”

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Oklahoma City Thunder announcer Brian Davis has been suspended, after saying during a game this week that Thunder player Russell Westbrook was “out of his cotton-pickin’ mind.”

A spokesman for the team said that Davis has received a one-game suspension, for Sunday’s Game 1 playoff game in Oklahoma City. The team’s radio announcer Matt Pinto will fill in for Davis for Sunday’s game.

In a statement, Davis apologized for the comment, saying that the suspension is “an appropriate consequence for my actions.”

“It is with great remorse and humility that I accept this suspension for the insensitive words I used during Wednesday’s broadcast. While unintentional, I understand and acknowledge the gravity of the situation,” Davis said. “I offer my sincere apology and realize that, while I committed a lapse in judgement, such mistakes come with consequences. This is an appropriate consequence for my actions.”

Davis made the comment during the Thunders’ game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday. After Westbrook assisted in a three-point shot for the Thunder, Davis declared, “Westbrook is out of his cotton-pickin’ mind.”

Urban Dictionary offers a number of definitions for the phrase “cotton-pickin’,” one of which bears the description, “Originated as a descriptor for the labor of harvesting cotton crops. Later used to described the farm-workers, primarily African-American slaves, who harvested the crops. May be offensive, and perceived as derogatory or insulting, to any intelligent or enlightened audience if spoken aloud.”

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