ESPN Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi has never gotten along with Baker Mayfield, and the opinion Grossi shared of the Browns quarterback on Tuesday has resulted in an indefinite suspension.
Grossi was caught on a hot mic at the NFL Combine referring to Mayfield as a “f—ing midget.” The context of the conversation, which Grossi did not realize was being aired live, was that the Browns have missed out on a number of top quarterbacks over the years and are now stuck with Mayfield, whom Grossi has openly criticized in the past. The conversation was aired on a video feed by TheLandonDemand.com while “The Really Big Show” on ESPN Cleveland/WKNR 850 was at a commercial break.
#browns they just called baker a f*****g midget on espn cleveland when they thought the mics were off pic.twitter.com/iSh3scQRCt
— Liam (@leojokerhart) February 25, 2020
As you might expect, Grossi’s remark went viral on Twitter. It wasn’t long before ESPN announced that Grossi has been suspended indefinitely. The network issued a statement saying it will not tolerate the use of “derogatory language that demeans other groups of people.”
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 25, 2020
Grossi has bashed the Browns numerous times in the past for drafting Mayfield. The issues began even before that, as Grossi accused Mayfield of demanding first-class flight accommodations for pre-draft visits and painted the former Oklahoma star as a high-maintenance prima donna. Mayfield has since been openly defiant when fielding questions from Grossi. The quarterback walked out of a press conference last season following a heated exchange with Grossi.
Grossi used to write for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and he was pulled from the Browns beat years ago for criticizing the team’s owner in a tweet.
