The Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday suspended their radio broadcaster after he used the N-word on Twitter, which he claimed was a "mistyped" word and "horrific error."
Play-by-play man John Focke wrote the racial slur in a tweet Monday night during an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets.
Focke was marveling at the shooting display of both teams, particularly Utah's Donovan Mitchell and Denver's Jamal Murray, and posted a tweet that has since been deleted. But it was captured in numerous screen shots.
“Shot making in this Jazz-(N-word) game is awesome! Murray and Mitchell going back and forth what a game!” he wrote.
The racist slur was the word that should have been "Nuggets."
“The Charlotte Hornets are aware of the recent social media post by radio broadcaster John Focke,” the team said in a statement on Tuesday.
“As an organization, we do not condone this type of language. John has been suspended indefinitely as we investigate the matter more closely.”
Focke deleted that tweet and apologized on Monday night.
"Earlier today I made a horrific error while attempting to tweet about the Denver-Utah game. I don't know how I mistyped, I had (and have) no intention of ever using that word. I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been sick to my stomach about it ever since. I'm truly sorry that this happened and I apologize to those I offended," he wrote.
The Hornets broadcast their games on WFNZ -FM and Focke was hired by the Hornets in April of last year. The Minnesota native had previously been the radio announcer for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.
Charlotte missed the playoffs this season and are not playing in the NBA's bubble in Florida.
