Comcast SportsNet Chicago cuts Susannah Collins
Comcast Sportsnet Chicago sideline reporter Susannah Collins was released from her position Thursday night after just eight months on the job, reports Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune.
In a moment that would’ve made Dick Clark and Ed McMahon proud (and would’ve make TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes), Collins made a notable on-air flub during the first intermission of a Chicago Blackhawks playoff game Tuesday night when she accidentally uttered outside the team’s locker room: “The Blackhawks had a tremendous amount of sex during the regular season.” (Really! No wonder they were that good…) She went on to correct herself, saying “success“. The flub went viral on the Internet, and featured on KTLA’s morning newscast in Los Angeles and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
However, the blooper brought to light a bunch of raunchy videos she made on YouTube in 2009 and 2010 as part of a show called Sports Nutz. In a statement released Thursday, CSN claimed Collins was released due to the videos, not the on-air flub.
But the question is, did CSN know about these videos before they hired Collins? Or afterward? This suggests her firing came due to the flub, or this would’ve happened quite a while ago.
Reaction to her ouster has been met with outrage. Sports media blogger Paul Banks even suggested the Blackhawks themselves had a hand in her firing (the Blackhawks own 25 percent of CSN Chicago.)
Collins’ firing comes as media outlets are increasingly getting antsy about these types of incidents: just two weeks ago, KFYR-TV weekend anchor A.J. Clemente was caught uttering obscenities at the start of its 5 p.m. newscast April 21 and was subsequently released from the Bismarck, N.D. TV station. Many viewers on the station’s Facebook page pleaded with KFYR not to fire him.
Back in March, CSN suspended Chicago Bulls analyst Kendall Gill for getting into an altercation with Big Ten Network’s Tim Doyle after both appeared on SportsNet Talk Live.
You really have to question CSN’s judgement. Given the raunchy NSFW (not safe for work) videos she made, why is CSN just now making these videos an issue? Must be the NBC way of doing things – just ask Community creator Dan Harmon.