BY CHARLES CHANEY and JOEL MUHS
WICHITA— Saturday’s Third place match between Rose Hill and McPherson in the Class 4A-1A state soccer tournament from a hot mic from announcer Toby Moore overshadowed the play from both teams as he disparaged players and parents with inappropriate comments.
McPherson beat Rose Hill, 2-1, but Moore was not happy with the play in the first half and took to the booth to air his frustrations to his partner. The game was broadcast live on the NFHS Network, where parents, fans and others have to pay $10.99/monthly to watch games streamed. This one was in part, paired with 810 Varsity, an affiliate of 810 WHB out of Kansas City.
A McPherson parent recorded the live stream and uploaded to Vimeo. You can see the halftime comments in their entirety below:
UPDATE: NFHS Network claimed copyright infringement on the Vimeo post. We’ve uploaded it on twitter because we believe you should have transparency in what was said. NFHS Network is trying to hide what was said.
In the video, Moore would be heard cursing, belittling the play and saying his ‘kill me now switch’. He topped it off by making inappropriate comments about the mothers of players and then admitting he would be in trouble if someone heard this.
“Ah, F—,” Moore said in the video. “Was that first half as ugly as I thought it was?”
That was just the beginning of the video.
The NFHS Network said in a release they have removed the audio from the on demand playback.
The NFHS Network sincerely apologizes for the inappropriate comments made by an announcer contracted by our local production affiliate during halftime of the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) 4A Soccer Championship on Saturday, May 25th. These comments do not reflect the values or standards of the NFHS Network.
We immediately removed the audio containing these comments from the on-demand broadcast. Additionally, our production affiliate has terminated its relationship with the announcer.
We regret that this incident detracted from the incredible achievement of the players, coaches, and fans involved in the championship. The NFHS Network is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of student-athletes and high schools across the country and we do not tolerate any behavior that undermines this mission.
Moore, who at some point in the video said it was against his own ‘policy’ to call out high school student-athletes, despite doing it during halftime, choose not to belittle a third place match while ‘live’.
The McPherson Sentinel and the Butler County Times-Gazette were made aware of this video late Monday night. Awful Announcing, a national online publication, went live first with the story, airing a comment from Moore, stating his regrets in his comments.
“I would like to apologize to the Rose Hill and McPherson schools, players, coaches, families, and communities for my remarks last Saturday,” Moore said in a statement to Awful Announcing. “They were tasteless, stupid, and inexcusable. Those comments did not reflect the tremendous season and hard work both sides had during the year. Thank you to KSHSAA and NFHS for allowing me the privilege to call games on their network. I sincerely and deeply apologize for my tasteless and hurtful remarks and ask forgiveness from those that were hurt by my words.”
KSHSAA said this when reached for comment:
During halftime of the 4-1A Girls State Soccer Consolation game on Saturday, May 25th, inappropriate comments were made by the webcast commentator and press box personnel. The KSHSAA does not tolerate the degrading comments about the teams nor the inappropriate comments relative to referenced spectators. These comments do not reflect the values or standards of the KSHSAA or the NFHS Network.
In conversations with the NFHS Network, the KSHSAA is confident they understand and agree with the KSHSAA perspective on this issue and the unacceptable behavior. The NFHS Network and site host administration has assured us the individual and other press box personnel will no longer be affiliated with any Kansas postseason games for the NFHS Network.
The KSHSAA sincerely apologizes to the students, coaches and communities of McPherson, Rose Hill and the viewers of the broadcast.
In the video, Moore is heard saying “My mind kind of flicked the ‘kill me now switch’ at about 30 minutes in.”
He also made inappropriate comments towards the mother of players in the stands.
His partner pointed out a bonus of soccer was soccer moms and Moore agreed. Then, he decided to add some detail to the situation.
“F— yeah, baby,” Moore said. “Up top, baby. The one that’s facing us? See if she can tear it the f— off. I can’t see the legs, but I can feel the a– from here.”
Moore, a seasoned veteran in the booth, admits what he was saying was wrong. Then says they’d be in a lot of trouble if what they were saying was heard by others.
“This conversation never happened, by the way,” Moore said. “We’d get in trouble. I would have never had this conversation if [inaudible name] was sitting in that chair. We’ve been around long enough, we know what we’re doing.”
