Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar was informed on Thursday that he will no longer be the color analyst for the Browns’ preseason games. Kosar, who has been calling preseason games alongside play-by-play man Jim Donovan since 2006, is being replaced by CBS analyst Solomon Wilcots. Why? Kosar believes he lost his job as a result of concussions from his playing days.
“I believe that this decision stems from my slurred speech impairment, which is a direct result of the many concussions I received while playing in the NFL,” Kosar said in a statement, via Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “This is very unfortunate, as I believe my football acumen and ability to describe what is happening on the field has been well received by Cleveland Browns fans.”
Some might be inclined to think that Kosar’s dismissal had more to do with the fact that he was overly critical of the St. Louis Rams wide receivers last year or that he was arrested for driving while under the influence last October. Kosar insists it’s the slurred speech.
“I would hope that WKYC would reconsider utilizing my in-game talents and overlook my concussion-induced impairments,” Kosar said.
WKYC president and general manager Brooke Spectorsky told cleveland.com on Thursday that he will not change his mind about Kosar being replaced in the broadcast booth but will encourage him to remain involved with pregame shows and radio spots. In other words, Kosar has been reassigned.
Maybe Kosar is right. It could simply be that he has trouble speaking sometimes and the network wanted to go in another direction. Or, it could be that he has attracted too much negative publicity off the field. I’d go with the concussion symptoms if I were him.
