The ESPN+ broadcast made an inappropriate comment during the first round of The Players Championship.
And it unfortunately came at the expense of Hideki Matsuyama.
The 33-year-old golfer had a rough first day at TPC Sawgrass, where he finished at just two over.
His rough day on the course was made worse by a woefully ignorant comment made on the broadcast.
Matsuyama was putting for bogey on 14 when John Maginnes thoughtlessy and carelessly stereotyped the Japanese native.
“He hasn’t smiled yet,” Maginnes said of Matsuyama on the broadcast.
“Bad sushi. This is just a brutal round of golf so far.”
For whatever reason, the former professional golfer turned analyst, Maginnes, thought that was okay to say.
Comparing Matsuyama’s poor round to have had ‘bad sushi’ was bad form.
Maginnes’ comment left the viewers understandably upset.
“Hey @espn, your @ESPNPlus commentator saying ‘must have been bad sushi’ referring to Matsuyama being +4 through 5 holes is the most insane, unprofessional thing I’ve ever heard, holy hell mate,” one viewer posted on X.
“Had to rewind to make sure I really heard it. That’s a WILD thing to say,” another viewer chimed in.
In the grand scheme of things what Maginnes said wasn’t life or death, but he needs to be much more aware of what he says in the future.
He probably thought nothing of it, and certainly meant no harm to Matsuyama.
But that’s the problem with stereotypes.
You don’t know the harm you’re causing when you’re doing or saying something.
Maginnes has to be better.
Besides, Matsuyama became the first male Japanese golfer to win a major championship when he won the Masters in 2021.
Put some respect on his name.
