The announcers for the Athletics were given a warning ahead of the debut of top prospect Nick Kurtz.
The A’s called up Kurtz, who is set to join the team’s lineup on Wednesday. Kurtz was the No. 4 overall pick by the A’s out of Wake Forest, and he batted .321 with 7 doubles and 7 home runs in 20 games at Triple-A Las Vegas this season.
If you say Nick Kurtz’s name fast, you might end up saying something close to the N-word. According to the Sacramento Bee, NBC Sports California warned the A’s announcers to make sure they pause in between saying “Nick” and “Kurtz.”
NBC Sports California reportedly advised A’s play-by-play announcers to pause between ‘Nick’ and ‘Kurtz’ when referring to the newly called-up prospect during broadcasts in order to avoid any unfortunate mishaps, per @sacbee_news pic.twitter.com/CVXa5OWICG
— Talkin’ Basabell (@TalkinBasabell_) April 22, 2025
The A’s are especially sensitive to the matter after firing Glen Kuiper for inadvertently saying the N-word while misspeaking two years ago.
The entire situation would probably be avoided if announcers called him “Nicky” Kurtz. They might want to consider that since the kid’s looking good and probably going to stick in the big leagues.
If you think his name is tough on announcers, then you haven’t seen the toughest name yet.
