NFL Announcer Issues Apology After ICE Joke And Takes Himself Off Air
NFL announcer Paul Allen has issued an apology over a 'joke' he made about Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents and says he is stepping away from his radio show.
Allen, 60, has called play-by-play commentary for the Minnesota Vikings since 2002.
He also hosts a morning radio talk show on KFAN-FM, a commercial radio station that broadcasts in Minneapolis.
The US state of Minnesota has been in the headlines over recent days after ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot dead by a federal ICE agent on Saturday.
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According to witnesses and from video footage, Pretti was recording ICE agents with his phone before attempting to help a bystander who had been pushed to the ground by an agent.
He was then sprayed with a chemical irritant, reported as pepper spray, before being wrestled to the ground by ICE agents and fatally shot multiple times.
Members of the Trump administration have claimed that Pretti, who was in possession of a handgun that was retrieved from his waistband immediately before the shooting, had 'arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement'.
Video footage, however, appears to contradict these claims, with no evidence that Pretti was either intending to be violent or was holding a handgun.
President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that his administration are 'reviewing everything' surrounding the fatal shooting, and refused to defend the federal ICE agent responsible.
On Friday - a day prior to the shooting - Allen spoke about the mass presence of ICE agents to the US state of Minnesota and the fatal shooting of US citizen Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
On his radio show, 'Nine-To-Noon', Allen falsely claimed that the demonstrators against ICE were 'paid protestors' and said that they were 'catching strays'.
On Monday, Allen apologised to viewers, stating: "Good morning, I made a comment on air Friday about protesters and the weather that was insensitive and poorly timed, and I'm sorry. It was a misguided attempt at humour.
"While it was never meant with any ill intent or political affront, I absolutely and wholeheartedly want to apologise to those who genuinely were hurt or offended by it.
"My best was lacking Friday and for that I'm sorry. I am taking a few days off but wanted to express these thoughts and my sincere apology with you before I do."
Allen was due to present Monday's show but did not appear.
On Saturday, he praised college basketball analyst Parker Fox on Twitter by writing that he was 'firing bullets'. The tweet was in response to an interview with a youth hockey player.
Allen would later delete the post, stating he had not been aware of the fatal shooting of Pretti at the time.
Ryan Smart