Keith Hernandez ignited a homophobic controversy with six words during Fox Sports’ pregame show Wednesday night.
The Mets legend and SNY broadcaster, in response to David Ortiz imitating Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig with a licking gesture toward Hernandez, made a joke about his home city of San Francisco, which is known for its prominent LGBTQ community and its history advocating for gay rights.
“I’m not from San Francisco, bro!” a smiling Hernandez appears to say, sending the World Series broadcast crew into a fit of laughter.
While it’s possible Hernandez said, “I am from San Francisco, bro,” since he was born and raised in the Bay Area before getting drafted by the Cardinals in 1971, either version of the sarcastic comment caused a stir among viewers on social media.
The joking started with Ortiz naming Puig as a player who needed to pick up his game to give his team a chance to win in Game 7, answering a question Fox Sports host Kevin Burkhardt had posed to the panel of Hernandez, Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas. Ortiz then brought up Puig’s ritual of licking his bat before entering the batter’s box and leaned toward a retreating Hernandez with his tongue out.
Through a spokesman, Hernandez apologized and issued the following statement:
“I made a poor attempt at humor and never intended for it to be taken the wrong way. I am from San Francisco and as baseball fans know, the Dodgers/Giants rivalry runs deep. I did not grow up a Dodger fan and when it came down to Giants vs. Dodgers, I rooted for the Giants. I apologize if any offense was taken.”
Hernandez, who has been a staple in the Mets’ booth since 2006, joined the Fox Sports team for the 2017 postseason.