Big 10 Radio Voice Suspended After Trashing Team

Gary Dolphin

Longtime Iowa radio broadcaster Gary Dolphin has been suspended from calling the team's next two men's basketball contests after critical comments that were inadvertently aired during Tuesday's Hawkeye win over Pitt.

The announcement was made by Learfield Sports Properties, which broadcasts Hawkeye sports events, according to USAToday.

Dolphin, in his 22nd season as the Hawkeye play-by-play announcer, apologized on air after Tuesday's game when it came to his attention that his words during a commercial break were heard by radio listeners.

Dolphin was talking with his broadcast partner, former Hawkeye player Bobby Hansen, about how well Pitt's freshmen guards were playing in the first half.

Here is the audio of Gary and Bobby last night...@KXnOMorningRush @HeatherRadio pic.twitter.com/rCKZp9T3M7

— Sean Roberts (@Sean23Roberts) November 28, 2018

“How do we not get anybody like that?” Dolphin said. “It's just year after year after year. Go get a quality piece like that. Just get one! They've got three or four.”

Hansen, who was not suspended, seemed to agree with Dolphin, echoing: "Go get a key piece like that."

In a news release Wednesday, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said: “Gary knows we are extremely disappointed in the comment he made about Maishe Dailey and the impact his remark had on our players and staff. The two-game suspension is a result of those comments, as well as some ongoing tensions that have built up over the past couple of years. This time away from the microphone will allow a chance to work through some of these issues. I truly appreciate the time and energy Gary puts into promoting Hawkeye athletics."

Dolphin is also the play-by-play voice of Iowa football. He hosts the weekly in-season call-in shows for Hawkeye football coach Kirk Ferentz and men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

“We unfortunately encountered a technical error at our network broadcast operations center that allowed off-air comments to be aired during a portion of the first-half commercial break,” Learfield Vice President-Broadcast Operations Tom Boman said in the news release. “We thoroughly reviewed the situation here at our Broadcast Ops center to ensure this doesn’t happen again, and we’ve also been communicating closely with Gary Barta and his administration, the entire broadcast team and our local Hawkeye Sports Properties staff.”