GRIDIRON great Lawrence Taylor is in hot water for saying two boxers acted like they were “queer” while he analyzed a nationally televised fight.
During the fight’s final round — a “Toughman” bout that aired Tuesday night on Fox Sports Net — exhausted amateur boxers Francis (the King) Royal and John Cobb wrapped their arms around each other in a clinch.
Play-by-play analyst Matt Vasgersian noted that under the Toughman rules of three, one minute rounds, “there’s no time for hugging.”
Taylor added, “don’t act like a queer out there,” and seconds later apologized to the national TV audience.
“Sorry if I offended anybody out there or in the [broadcast] truck,” Taylor said.
“This is pay-per-view, we can cut loose,” Vasgersian countered, before calling the final seconds of the bout in which Royal won by decision.
Tuesday night’s fight originally aired on Feb. 11 as part of a pay-per-view special, but was repackaged for Fox Sports Net.
“We deeply regret this incident,” a Fox Sports Net official said yesterday.
“Obviously the people overseeing the repackaging of the show displayed a major lack of judgment and you can be sure that suitable disciplinary action is being taken.”
Taylor was not available for comment yesterday, but his spokesman, Mark Lepselter said in a prepared statement, “it was an off-the-cuff comment with no malice intended. Lawrence realized immediately what he said and sincerely apologized for it.”
“Toughman” is the glitzy amateur fight show that started airing last summer on Fox Sports Net’s sister cable channel, FX.
The weekly cable show, which originates from cities around the U.S., features short three-round fights in which local tough guys compete for $1,000.
The fights culminate in a championship in which the winner takes home $50,000.