Themed sportscasts have become all the rage in contemporary local news for their ability to entertain and provide good publicity and viral content.  We’ve seen wrestling themed sportscasts, Game of Thrones sportscasts, Masters sportscasts, and even DEATH themed sportscasts.  If done right, they can be very clever, original, and entertaining.

In light of Prince’s passing last week, Dan Phillips of Fox 17 in Nashville attempted to pay tribute with his own Prince-themed sportscast.  Seems like a fun tribute to the late musician, right?

Apparently not in the eyes of his employer.  Phillips said on his Facebook page that he was fired by Fox 17, who felt his Prince sportscast was “insensitive.”

Phillips posted this message Friday on his Facebook page:

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And here’s the video of the sportscast in question:

This seems too crazy to be true, right?  I mean, there’s no way a television station could really fire an anchor over a themed sportscast in tribute to Prince, right?

Well, Phillips has deleted his Twitter page and the station has deleted his bio from their website.  Phillips does not appear on the list of on-air talent at Fox 17.  According to the Cached version of his Fox 17 bio, Phillips had been at the station since 2005.

If this is truly the case and Phillips was fired for doing a Prince sportscast, it’s one of the more unbelievable things we’ve ever seen.

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