Baltimore Orioles announcer Kevin Brown was allegedly suspended after he read statistics about the team that showed their poor performance against another club in the past, prompting a seemingly unending stream of criticism from other announcers.

Brown, the primary Orioles play-by-play commentator for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, was reportedly suspended indefinitely after his comments before the July 23, 2023, game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Post reported.

“The Orioles split a two-gamer with the Rays in June. They had lost their last 15 series here at Tropicana Field. … Already got 3 and 2 at the Trop this year after winning 3 of 18 the previous three years combined," Brown said on air. Apparently, that was too far.

The announcer was downgraded to the radio broadcast for the Orioles' series against the Philadelphia Phillies and has been absent from television for eight games, save for two nationally televised matchups.

"We don’t comment on personnel matters," a senior team official reportedly told Awful Announcing. “We look forward to hearing Kevin’s voice soon,” they added.

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Since the debacle, on-air announcers have openly bashed the Orioles' executives, both during games and on radio shows.

“If you’re going to be so thin-skinned to suspend Kevin Brown, then you have to suspend the entire Orioles [broadcast] truck,” Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said on his radio show.

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Legendary broadcaster Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called the Baltimore owner "a disgrace" and an “idiot" who’s "never won a damn thing."

After reading some statistics about the Orioles during a game against the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti said, "I hope I don't get suspended by the Orioles for saying that."

A New York Mets broadcaster said the Baltimore organization "draped itself in utter humiliation with their treatment of one of their young broadcasters" during a game against the Chicago Cubs.

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Moreover, the situation in Baltimore is reportedly getting even worse before it gets better.

The Athletic cited "multiple sources briefed on the decision" who said ownership has enacted a policy "mandating that their broadcasters wear only team gear when on air."

“Broadcasters have also been reprimanded previously for mentioning past Orioles players who are no longer with the team.”

Orioles brass reportedly told the Baltimore Banner, “We don’t comment on employment decisions, however, Kevin Brown will be back with us in the near future."

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Former NBA star Charles Barkley has now weighed in on the controversy regarding the voting process to award the league's MVP. Fellow former player Kendrick Perkins, who appears frequently as a guest analyst on ESPN, recently claimed that MVP voters, who are mostly sports writers and broadcasters, prefer white players.

On ESPN's "First Take" earlier this week, Perkins noted to hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim and former player JJ Redick that the vast majority of MVP voters are white. Perkins then implied that their white skin color affects their voting habits.

"[W]hen it comes to MVP voting, 80 percent of the voters are white American," Perkins stated. "Twenty percent are others. I know that stat."

Redick took issue with Perkins' insinuation that the white voters were therefore racist. "[W]hat we’ve just witnessed is the problem with this show," Redick began, "where we create narratives that do not exist in reality." Redick went on to claim that Perkins was "implying that the white voters that vote on NBA are racist, that they favor white people," a claim which Perkins initially denied but then said were simply "the facts."

Charles Barkley, who won the NBA MVP award in 1993, shared his thoughts about the topic during a phone appearance on Denver's 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio with Vic Lombardi, Marc Moser, and Brett Kane. Never one to mince words, Barkley took Perkins to task, calling his comments "[a]sinine, silly, stupid. Pick one of the words, whatever one you want."

Barkley added, "[W]hen I heard this for the first time last week, I said this has to be one of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard."

Barkley then accused Perkins of suffering from what he called "ESPN disease," which Barkley argued encourages some analysts to make outlandish claims in order to appear "provocative." Barkley said he was glad Redick pushed back against Perkins' comments.

The Round Mound of Rebound then explained that the MVP award is given to the player with the best regular season, not the best overall player in the league. Nikola Jokic, the Serbian phenom largely expected to win the league MVP award again this year, currently averages a triple-double, and his team, the Denver Nuggets, sit comfortably atop the Western Conference.

"To slander this man (Jokic) in this situation is just total B.S.," Barkley insisted. Jokic also won the award the past two seasons.

Charles Barkley on Kendrick Perkins, JJ Redick and the MVP Race: 92.5 FM - Denver's Altitude Sports youtu.be

There is some indication that Perkins might actually agree with Barkley. After his heated exchange with Redick, Perkins stated that he "appreciated" Redick for his "real talk."

"I appreciate you, brother," Perkins said to Redick. "I'm good, long as you good."

Redick then replied, "We're always good."

Qerim then closed the segment by stating that she wished the four of them could all gather in person for a group hug.

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