Tampa Bay Rays sideline reporter fired over racist, anti-Semitic comments

UPDATE: At least one source is saying Austen has been fired.

12:16 PM: Emily Austen, the sideline reporter for Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic broadcasts on Fox Sports Florida, went on a Facebook livestream for Barstool Sports yesterday. She may be looking for a job come Monday morning.

During the livestream, which has since been deleted, Austen called Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love a “little bitch” playing up the idea that an athlete who gets a concussion, like Love did the other night, as “soft.” She said she “didn’t even know that Mexicans were that smart,” talked about how “Chinese guys” are good at math and referenced “the way I used to talk to the Jews in Boca” when she was a waitress, playing off of one of the Barstool hosts’ comment that Jews were stingy.

This sort of thing may be par for the course for Barstool, which has never shied away from sexist and racist commentary, but Fox Sports South was none too pleased. They issued this comment this morning:

We were made aware that Emily Austen appeared in a social media video unaffiliated with FOX Sports in which she made insensitive and derogatory comments. She was not speaking on behalf of FOX Sports, nor do we condone any of the statements she made in the video. Emily has been advised that her comments were unacceptable, and she is not scheduled to appear on any upcoming FOX Sports Florida or FOX Sports Sun broadcasts.

I’d read that as a suspension which, after some meetings with Austen, HR and Legal, could turn into a termination. When your job is to be the face of a network, you can’t put egg on it like Austen did here.

(via Deadspin)