Gary Hahn, known as North Carolina State University’s “Voice of the Wolkpack,” has been suspended indefinitely from his job after using the term “illegal aliens” during a broadcast.
Hahn has been “the radio voice of NC State football and basketball on the Wolfpack Sports Network since the 1990-91 season,” according to the university’s website — but his verbal faux pas appears to have cost him a job he’s held for more than 30 years.
The incident occurred Friday as Hahn referenced the score of the Sun Bowl, saying “down among all the illegal aliens in El Paso it’s UCLA 14 and Pittsburgh 6.”
The Raleigh News & Observer reported that the “Sun Bowl canceled its annual fan fest last week because the city’s convention center is being used to house migrants awaiting immigration decisions, making El Paso a hot-button topic for political commentary.”
Hahn, an employee of Learfield Communications, the NC State broadcast rightsholder, told USA TODAY the company “has suspended Wolfpack Sports Network play-by-play announcer Gary Hahn indefinitely following comments made during today’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl radio broadcast.”
Here's what got NCSU announcer Gary Hahn immediately and indefinitely suspended after today's broadcast: pic.twitter.com/4qkyQ1jzT2
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 30, 2022
Hahn had made his comment while covering the Wolfpack’s game against Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, CBS reported.
The term “illegal alien” has long been a point of contention, especially within higher education circles.
In 2017, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Maryland advised its faculty and staff not to ask about a student’s immigration status or use the term “illegal alien.”
In 2016, The Daily Targum student newspaper at Rutgers University fired a columnist for demanding to use the term in his piece.
MORE: Check out the Campus Cancel Culture Database
IMAGE: Twitter screenshot
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