Former president George W. Bush crossed paths with disgraced sports broadcaster Thom Brennaman at Saturday’s college basketball clash between Virginia and SMU.
Bush and long-time wife Laura, who live in Dallas, Texas, were in attendance at Moody Coliseum in University Park for the ACC opener, which SMU won 63-51 on the night.
Before it got underway, George and Laura stopped for a quick photo with Brennaman – who was calling the game on air for CW Sports – and one of his colleagues at courtside.
The play-by-play announcer shared their snap on social media and wrote: ‘Don’t care what your politics are, I’ve known this guy a long time…. And he’s a great guy!’
Brennaman – who only recently returned after a four-year broadcasting hiatus – received criticism for posing alongside Bush, whose controversial time in the White House still divides opinion over two decades since it came to an end.
‘Guys, I respect everyone’s opinion,’ the CW Sports commentator said in a follow-up post amid the backlash.
George W. Bush crossed paths with disgraced sportscaster Thom Brennaman (right) Saturday
Brennaman, who made a homophobic slur on a hot mic in 2020, faced a backlash over the photo
He apologized on air in 2020 after describing Kansas City as ‘one of the f** capitals of the world’
‘Not one persons is more important than the next, including mine. This was meant to be ,and stated to be ,NON-political . Does everything have to turn into a fight?’
Brennaman is back on TV with CW Sports over four years since he was caught making a homophobic comment about Kansas City on a hot mic.
While calling a MLB game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cincinnati Reds for Fox Sports Ohio, the sportscaster could be heard describing the Missouri city as ‘one of the f** capitals of the world’ while thinking he was off-air.
After a clip of his remark went viral online, Brennaman infamously issued an on-air apology during the fifth inning of the game, before interrupting himself to announce a Reds home run.
He was later suspended indefinitely by Fox before leaving the network for good, while his long-time association with the Reds also came to an end.
However, over the summer Brennaman was hired as CW Sports’ lead voice for nationally televised college football games and an announcer for basketball fixtures.
‘There are no words to describe how grateful I am that they’re rolling the dice,’ he told The Athletic back in June. ‘They don’t have to do this.’
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