Chip Caray's on-air slip reportedly causes awkward silence during Cardinals Broadcast

Saturday’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds took an unexpected turn — not on the field, but in the broadcast booth. During the top of the 4th inning, longtime Cardinals announcer Chip Caray found himself at the center of an uncomfortable moment after a live on-air slip that quickly went viral.

Caray was in the middle of reading a promotional script for the Cardinals' upcoming Disability Pride Night, a well-intended segment meant to highlight inclusivity. But a simple mispronunciation of a word completely shifted the tone. What was meant to be “flag” came out sounding like a homophobic slur. Though Caray immediately corrected himself, the moment hung heavily in the air.

Chip Caray slip goes viral

The promo read: “Disability Pride Night is July 10 and with a themed ticket, fans take home a Cardinals cap featuring the Disability Pride f**” before Chip Caray quickly caught himself and corrected to “flag.” But by then, the slip had already landed.

What followed was 31 seconds of dead silence. No commentary, no jokes — just the sounds of the game in the background. It was clear that both Caray and his broadcasting partner Brad Thompson were processing the awkwardness of the situation. Eventually, Thompson broke the silence by commenting on a pitch, but the moment had already made its impact.

Chip Caray is no stranger to the world of sports broadcasting. As the grandson of legendary announcer Harry Caray and son of Skip Caray, Chip has been around the mic his entire life — which is what made this gaffe all the more jarring. It was a genuine mistake from a seasoned professional.

The incident instantly gained traction online. Clips were circulated across Twitter and Reddit, with users reacting to the silence more than the slip itself. “Loudest silence I’ve ever heard,” one post read. Others came to Caray’s defense, calling it an obvious slip of the tongue and urging people not to overreact.

But thrown into the absurdity of the moment was the fact that the Reds were the other team — reminding some fans of a previous on-air scandal with longtime Reds announcer Thom Brennaman. Brennaman had used a gay slur while working under a hot microphone in 2020. That moment, too, was interrupted awkwardly by a Nick Castellanos home run — so jokes were made about Castellanos homering during tense broadcast moments all the time.

Fortunately for Caray, Front Office Sports later stated that no action would be taken. It was deemed an honest mistake, one in which no ill will existed.

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Live TV is brutal, especially when every word is dissected in real time. Chip Caray's slip-up was regrettable, but clearly an accident. In an era when this was supposed to be a moment to be revered for inclusion, it became an error instead of a message.

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