College basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb has apologized for the "white man" joke he made on the air Thursday night when he joined CBS's studio panel to kick off the start of the March Madness Sweet 16.
"I'm just here to bring diversity to this set," Gottlieb said after being introduced early in the broadcast, "to give the kind of white man's perspective" (video below).
Gottlieb's fellow panel members Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley — all African-American — didn't seem to know how to react, creating an even more awkward moment.
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Gottlieb apologized almost immediately via Twitter and through a CBS statement before the night was even over.
"It was not a smart thing to say and I apologize," Gottlieb said in a statement.
Still, Gottlieb's comment immediately stirred up a slew of Twitter bashings, with some calling for him to be fired.
Charles Barkley eventually came to Gottlieb's defense, calling out all the people slamming him.
"He made a joke earlier tonight," Barkley told BigLeadSports. "All those people on Twitter who are going crazy, which I would never ever do, listen to me. Kenny, Greg Anthony, and Greg Gumbel didn’t take that personally so all you people at home who’ve got no life who are talking bad about Doug Gottlieb get a life. It’s no big deal."
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