# Should this broadcaster be suspended? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827 "2009-02-14T15:45:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/1 "2009-02-14T15:45:33Z")
A couple of weeks ago, a Golf Channel commentator during a golf telecast said that he got kicked out the Boy Scouts for “eating a brownie” It’s old lockerroom joke that I first heard when I was a kid, 30 some years ago. IMO, most people that would be offended by the joke would not understand the joke. In a another message board, posters are wanting him suspended or even fired. I think the comment was inappropriate but not worthy of losing a job. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/2 "2009-02-14T15:58:19Z")
I’m not personally offended, but… It’s a tasteless joke. It’s a non-funny joke. It’s a 30-year-old joke. It’s not his original joke. It has nothing to do with golf. Maybe they should fire him, not out of moral indignation, but because he sucks as a golf commentator. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/3 "2009-02-14T19:49:06Z")
Is brownie supposed to = shit? Or is it a reference to a pot brownie? Why would someone be fired over that? ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/4 "2009-02-14T19:51:39Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Is brownie supposed to = shit? Or is it a reference to a pot brownie? Why would someone be fired over that? Maybe a reference to Brownies, the first level of Girl Scouts..? The youngest ones so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/5 "2009-02-14T20:05:32Z")
Yes, it’s a reference to the Brownies, the younger level of Girl Scout. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/6 "2009-02-14T21:08:10Z")
For God’s sake, do you have any idea what might happen if humor were introduced to golf? Unchecked, it could lead to fun… _excitement_… commentators speaking above a whisper… it would destroy the game as we know it! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/7 "2009-02-14T22:12:25Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Maybe a reference to Brownies, the first level of Girl Scouts..? The youngest ones so to speak. :smack: Ah, OK now I can see how that could be inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/8 "2009-02-14T23:39:53Z")
I don’t see it as inappropriate. It’s a comic reference to cannibalism (and therefore obviously not to be taken seriously), isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/9 "2009-02-15T00:00:15Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t see it as inappropriate. It’s a comic reference to cannibalism - Or underage sex. Or pedophilia, even. ETA - Eh. I’m curious as to the context. How the heck did this joke come up while commentating on golf? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/10 "2009-02-15T00:03:12Z")
I was aware of those possible interpretations - they just don’t seem the right ones to me though. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/11 "2009-02-15T00:46:26Z")
I can’t imagine that it was a reference to anything other than cunnilingus. Saying you got kicked out of Boy Scouts for _ingesting a Girl Scout for sustenance_ just doesn’t make sense, comically. If it’s a reference to oral sex, however, the reveal is actually pretty funny (IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/12 "2009-02-15T00:52:29Z")
“If you’re looking for adventure of a new and different kind, And you come across a girl scout who is similarly inclined, Don’t be nervous, don’t be flustered, don’t be scared. Be prepared!” ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/13 "2009-02-15T01:05:49Z")
Here’s another one that may or may not be cause for a firing: this afternoon on ESPN2, I was watching a basketball game between the Creighton Bluejays and Southern Illinois Salukis. (Unfortunately, the Salukis got destroyed.) For a couple seconds, the camera focused in on an SIU fan with a homemade sign that referred to the “Bluegays.” (It wasn’t like the sign just happened to get on camera. The cameraman specifically focused in on the sign.) Could the cameraman and/or producer get in trouble? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/14 "2009-02-15T01:11:16Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > I can’t imagine that it was a reference to anything other than cunnilingus. Saying you got kicked out of Boy Scouts for _ingesting a Girl Scout for sustenance_ just doesn’t make sense, comically. It did to me. (bearing in mind that I’m encountering it in this thread stripped of context) - my first impression was that it was a darkly comic reference to cannibalism. In that kind of humour, the more serious the event being described, the more casually it is mentioned. Imagine Gomez Addams saying that Pugsley got kicked out the boy scouts for eating a brownie - and you’re there (well, you’re where I was, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/15 "2009-02-15T01:14:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It did to me. (bearing in mind that I’m encountering it in this thread stripped of context) - my first impression was that it was a darkly comic reference to cannibalism. Let me assure you that, in the context of American sports, especially male sports, that the joke and the reference to it concerned oral sex with a young girl. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/16 "2009-02-15T01:24:03Z")
Not being familiar with that context at all I’ll happily take your word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/17 "2009-02-15T02:27:31Z")
I used to be in radio and can attest to the failure of sometimes engaging brain before opening mouth. What happens is the “opening” is there and you jump into it. I do it even now sometimes in our (IANAD) ER. A situation will present itself, a joke or another funny line is remembered, and next thing I know, I have said something inappropriate. Probably just needs an apology, but not a suspension, IMHO. Q ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/18 "2009-02-15T03:47:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > [QUOTE=VarlosZ] > I can’t imagine that it was a reference to anything other than cunnilingus. Saying you got kicked out of Boy Scouts for ingesting a Girl Scout for sustenance just doesn’t make sense, comically. It did to me. (bearing in mind that I’m encountering it in this thread stripped of context) - my first impression was that it was a darkly comic reference to cannibalism. In that kind of humour, the more serious the event being described, the more casually it is mentioned. [/QUOTE] Username/post combo alert! ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/19 "2009-02-15T04:02:09Z")
FWIW, I’ve always heard the joke used to imply cannibalism, not cunnilingus. It’s the sort of joke my grandpa would tell. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/20 "2009-02-15T13:50:53Z")
Apparently, he didn’t say it. Well, he did, but the context was telling someone else (while he thought he was off air) about a t-shirt he saw someone wearing. [Link.](http://www.cbssports.com/golf/story/11352680) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827.md?page=2)