Of all the possible headlines to use for the Braves’ 13-1 loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLDS, Bay Area Fox affiliate KTVU chose to go with blatant racism.
The local Fox affiliate has faced backlash since Wednesday when the station’s evening telecast reported on Atlanta’s loss with a chyron that read, “Braves Scalped.”
That is just awful, and KTVU owes its viewers an explanation as to how a clearly racist headline made it through an entire production crew and onto the newscast.
After ignoring much of the uproar for 13 hours, the station aired an apology for the “racially insensitive” headline. The station did not provide details about its editorial process or potential discipline stemming from the graphic.
This, of course, came after the Atlanta Braves had faced criticism for their “Tomahawk Chop” chant, causing Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley — a member of the Cherokee Nation — to voice his disappointment in the chant. The Braves responded by removing foam tomahawks from the SunTrust Park seats at Game 5 and limiting the chant’s promotion in game presentation.
KTVU faced similar fallout in 2013 when it aired fake and racist names for the pilots of the Asiana Flight 214 plane crash in San Francisco.
