On Friday, Fox News noted that former Major League Baseball player Frank Thomas passed away. Except… it wasn’t the Frank Thomas that you probably know.
Earlier this January, former three-time MLB All-Star Frank Thomas passed away. An outfielder, Thomas played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1951-1958, with whom he made those ALl-Star appearances.
But Thomas was misidentified during an ‘In Memoriam’ segment that the network ran on Friday morning. The news station acted as if the former Chicago White Sox legend, Most Valuable Player award winner, and Baseball Hall of Famer was the one who died.
Embarrassing is one word for this mess-up. But then things amplified even more later in the day.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m very sorry my ex-employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes, I’m alive and doing well,” Thomas confirmed. “This blows my mind also.”
Ladies and Gentlemen I’m very sorry my ex employer Fox would be this irresponsible on National TV this morning. Yes I’m alive and doing well. This blows my mind also. pic.twitter.com/FWGlVwOIFS
— Frank Thomas (@TheBigHurt_35) December 29, 2023
Fox News was forced to issue an on-air correction shortly after the flub.
“We need to a issue a correction in the ‘In Memoriam’ feature,” host Julie Banderas said. “We misidentified the late Frank Thomas, the three-time All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Frank Thoams we showed you, unfortunately, was also a former pro baseball player. He is very much alive. We apologize for that mistake.”
Banderas: We need to issue a correction.. We misidentified Frank Thomas for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Frank Thomas we showed you unfortunately was also a former pro baseball. He is alive pic.twitter.com/fXce9PcKz4
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 29, 2023
The one thing that you can’t do is misidentify somebody’s death. So this is nothing short of an egregious unforced error.
[Acyn]
