Announcer Ian Eagle had to call in to a radio station on Wednesday to clear things up after a video of him went viral.
The video in question was from 2012 and it features Eagle seemingly berating his announcing partner, Mike Fratello, while calling a Nets-Boston Celtics game.
Though the incident is from 2012, a random X account reposted the video in 2022. Then on Tuesday, a user on X commented on the video, causing it to recirculate and go viral among people who thought it was a current event.
The person’s post was bookmarked 14,000 times, and the video has been viewed over 10 million times.
I’ve never heard a commentator get mad at his partner on live TV like this 😭
pic.twitter.com/F6sJS01z53— Mink Flow (@currypistonn) January 17, 2024
The post circulated so widely on X that “Ian Eagle” became a trending topic on the social media site Wednesday.
Eagle, who still calls Nets games on YES Network and is a popular sports announcer for CBS, called into “Evan and Tiki” on WFAN in New York on Wednesday to address things.
First off, Eagle set the record straight and made sure people knew the video was from 2012. Then he made clear that the entire exchange was rooted in sarcasm.
“This was 12 years ago. Unfortunately I’m here to tell you it was a gag. Don’t want to burst any bubbles … it was a joke. In fact, [Fratello] at the end of that ‘harangue’ high-fived me,” Eagle said.
Eagle also noted that the video had gone viral in 2012 when the events originally occurred.
Ian Eagle Calls in to Clear the Air on Social Media "Controversy"@EvanandTikiWFAN @evanrobertswfan @tikibarber pic.twitter.com/0yZzJEKMUf
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) January 17, 2024
This is one of the downsides of X. When users don’t include context, things can go viral and cause tons of confusion, just like it did in this case.
