ESPN anchor John Anderson has apologized to Las Vegas Golden Knights player Zach Whitecloud after joking that the player’s name sounded like a toilet paper brand.
Anderson was performing his regular duties as a SportsCenter anchor on Monday night, discussing the Golden Knight’s 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, when the highlights showed Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud’s second-period goal.
The name “Whitecloud” prompted Anderson to poke fun at the player.
“What kind of name is Whitecloud? Great name if you’re a toilet paper,” Anderson said.
Whitecloud is not a toilet paper brand, but it is the last name of the first NHL player from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in Canada.
During the Vegas-Edmonton highlight on SportsCenter, John Anderson jokes about Zach Whitecloud’s name, saying it’s a “great name if you’re a toilet paper.”
Whitecloud is the first Indigenous NHL player from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. pic.twitter.com/gngA1yg8wk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2023
It didn’t take long for Anderson to begin apologizing for his remark. On Tuesday, Anderson released a statement admitting he “blew it.”
“This is totally on me and I sincerely apologize to Zach, the Golden Knights, their fans and everyone else for what I said. It’s my job to be prepared and know the backgrounds of the players and I blew it,” Anderson said.
ESPN anchor John Anderson with a statement last night on his comment about Zach Whitecloud: pic.twitter.com/joZyaURsDF
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) May 9, 2023
Whitecloud reached out to Anderson and forgave him for his “insensitive” joke.
“It was obviously, I think, an attempt at humor that came out as being obviously insensitive, and he acknowledges that. He understands that it was wrong to say, and I wanted to make sure that he knew that. I accepted his apology.
“In our culture we’re raised to be the first ones to reach out and offer our help. That’s why I reached out to John this morning. And wanted to make sure that he understood that, that I understood that people make mistakes, and he acknowledges that he’s willing, trying to move forward in the right direction and be better from it.”
The Golden Knights have a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series against the Oilers.