Philadelphia Flyers radio play-by-play announcer Tim Saunders has been suspended for two games following an on-air incident during Thursday’s broadcast of a National Hockey League matchup with the Buffalo Sabres.
Saunders, who is heard on Beasley Media Group-owned “97.5 The Fanatic” WPEN-FM, the team’s flagship station, appeared to believe the game had gone into a commercial break in the third period. After a few moments of dead air, he began humming and made a lewd comment to a colleague that inadvertently went out over the air.
Color commentator Todd Fedoruk, a former Flyer, tried to alert Saunders. “I think we’re still on the air, Tim,” he said.
“No, we’re not,” Saunders responded, laughing. “… Are we? Are we? … Do you have us? Talk to me.”
The Flyers and “97.5 The Fanatic” issued a joint statement Friday announcing the suspension: “We are aware of the inappropriate comment made during last night’s radio broadcast in the TV timeout of the Flyers-Sabres game. These remarks do not reflect the standards of conduct or values we expect from anyone associated with our organization,” the statement says. “We take this matter very seriously and sincerely apologize to our listeners, fans and all those affected by these comments.”
Saunders has been the voice of the Flyers since 1997.