Sports Media

ESPN Cleveland Suspends Tony Grossi For Calling Baker Mayfield A “Fucking Midget”

Trey Daubert / NFL / February 25, 2020

ESPN Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi and Baker Mayfield have been in a fued since Mayfield was drafted by the Browns. Here’s a quick rundown to catch you up.

Baker Mayfield was put on this planet to sucker the Browns. #100yearswar.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) November 12, 2017

Grossi then wrote a piece comparing Mayfield to Johnny Manziel.

known loser Tony Grossi asked Baker if he was starring in any films with his new mustache

Baker says, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” #MyQuarterback pic.twitter.com/i2lMUHMqOY
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) July 31, 2019

Mayfield vs Grossi continues….He was fine with everyone else’s questions about mindset etc… pic.twitter.com/5bTHNrurkP
— Patrick Claybon (@PatrickClaybon) October 30, 2019

There was more in between but you get the point. These two do not like each other. Long story short.

Now we have a new development. Not realizing that he was live on the air, Tony Grossi called Mayfield a “fucking midget” while complaining the Browns missed out on all the other young star quarterbacks.

#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

https://twitter.com/BarstoolTate/status/1232376205854347266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1232376205854347266&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.barstoolsports.com%2Fblog%2F1944982%2Fdid-the-espn-cleveland-reporter-just-call-baker-mayfield-a-fucking-midget-when-he-thought-the-mics-were-off

Grossi will be reprimanded by ESPN and has since been suspended:

pic.twitter.com/oFvRfE2J6P
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 25, 2020

Better be careful what you say around mics. Everything gets picked up. Grossi has been an employee of ESPN since 2012. It remains to be seen whether he keeps his job moving forward. Baker is 6-foot so he’s really not short in reality. Just maybe on the shorter side in terms of NFL quarterbacks.

Grossi did later apologize:

“There’s no excuse for using that language in any context,” Grossi said. “It was said without malice but also without thought.”

As of right now, Mayfield has not commented, which is surprising. Mayfield’s on field performance in 2019 was, well, not great. The former Oklahoma quarterback finished the season with 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He was arguably one of the worst starting quarterbacks in football. The pressure is on. The Browns have a new head coach and GM. Neither of them have prior ties to Baker Mayfield.

Kyler Murray Is Better Than Baker Mayfield

In other news, ESPN remains in shambles. This news comes less than 24 hours after they canceled “High Noon”. Poor company just can’t catch a break. Hey, the “High Noon” guys probably did a good job, right?