Who is Robert Anthony Cruz? Banana Baseball star goes viral over CNN backflip fail

Robert Anthony Cruz fell flat on his face after trying to execute a backflip while on-air. During the Thursday morning segment of CNN News Central, the cameras had reportedly cut to the Savannah Bananas baseball player as he tried to perform the stunt, which disastrously ended with him on the floor. 'Oh, Jesus,' co-host Kate Bolduan exhaled as she witnessed his fall.

“That never happens,” Cruz remarked as he got up to his knees.

The cameras then cut to Bolduan, visibly stunned as she covers her mouth, and co-host John Berman noting:

“That - that what you just saw there, is a brand new twist on America's favorite pastime.”

For the unversed, Robert Anthony Cruz is a former D1, D2, and professional baseball player. In the past, he went viral for the video he shared of his dad reacting to the news that he had been signed to the Washington Nationals, though he is also known for co-hosting the Beyond The Fence podcast.

Cruz also doubles as a content creator on social media under the moniker Coach RAC. According to his LinkedIn, he studied at the University of California for a year before he enrolled at Biola University for Christian Studies. He is married to Gianna Nicole, whom he frequently shares photos with on Instagram. They have been married since December 2021.

Robert Anthony Cruz says his fans have the A-okay to laugh at his mishap

Robert Anthony Cruz has since issued a statement via a video on his Instagram account, where he has 755,000 followers, clarifying his side of the viral video:

“They say all press is good press, huh? Well, you’ve probably seen the video. Your boy is bouncing around the internet like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert,” he said, before explaining that the CNN crew asked him backstage if he had “any tricks up his sleeve.”

While Robert Anthony Cruz looked fine after his fall, CNN chose to cut to commercial as Berman reportedly told the audience that after the break they would hopefully hear more about stunts from the guest.

However, Robert Anthony Cruz was not spotted after the break. Berman explained that he was well and also added,

“And it only adds to the legend of the Savannah Bananas, whom you should absolutely check out at a stadium if you can get a ticket.”

Robert Anthony Cruz also shared a video on his Instagram Story on July 24 where he further clarified the debacle.

In the video shared on his main feed, he said that he often does flips, and that too while catching balls. Given that he had done so many backflips, Cruz said that he had no reason at all to doubt his ability to recreate a backflip successfully.

But he's mostly used to pulling stunts on a field, not a TV studio, he said, per E! Online:

“When you do a flip, you are looking for the ground while you're rotating. I remember jumping back and seeing a bright light in my face and the floor itself was very light. I kind of just lost where I was in the air and wound up under-rotating. Plus, my feet slipped. Next thing I know, I am on the floor, and I'm rattled. I was pretty confused.”

Robert Anthony Cruz also noticed there was “blood dripping down” from his face.

“I ended up getting several stitches in my lip and in my chin. Fortunately enough, there was a doctor in that building, so I got checked out. Aside from my damaged pride. I didn't sustain any actually serious injuries.”

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