ESPN Arkansas radio host Derek Ruscin finds himself in hot water following some harsh comments he made about an Arkansas Razorbacks baseball player on Friday.
Arkansas put together a solid season, finishing at 38-18, but they ended the year on a slide and completely bottomed out in the SEC Baseball Tournament, losing both games they played despite being the No. 3 seed. On Sunday it was announced that, for the first time since 2015, the Hogs won’t be hosting a regional as they begin their march towards the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
Before that announcement, however, tensions were running high amongst those who cover Arkansas baseball. Ruscin was discussing the team’s late-season struggles during Friday’s show and played a clip of catcher Michael Turner explaining how the team is dealing with the fallout of their recent slide.
Before playing the clip of his answer, Ruscin set the tone by letting his audience know that Turner, a recent transfer from Kent State, is a “stupid ass.”
https://twitter.com/joshteeter01/status/1530617583308791808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1530617583308791808%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.saturdaydownsouth.com%2Farkansas-football%2Fderek-ruscin-arkansas-radio-host-receives-punishment-after-he-called-a-player-a-disgrace-and-loser%2F
“I’ll say it, and I wouldn’t say this about a young player, Michael Turner, he’s a fifth-year guy from Kent State, he’s a stupid ass, the catcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks.”
He then played Turner’s comments, in which he said that Arkansas is “trying to keep the circle tight and cut out a lot of the outside noise. It’s not always that easy to play here. There’s a lot of people that are fans, some are good fans, some are not good fans. And if you read Twitter after the game, it can get in your mind a little bit. So we’re just trying to keep the circle tight and keep moving forward.”
Here’s what Arkansas catcher Michael Turner had to say about the outside noise the Hogs are hearing.
“There’s a lot of people that are good fans. Some aren’t so great fans. If you read Twitter after the game, it can get in your mind a little bit.” pic.twitter.com/rEV1QcLxDj
— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) May 27, 2022
That did not sit well with Ruscin, who launched into a screed about the catcher, who played in 53 games for the Hogs this season.
“First of all, you’re not a Razorback, you’re a rental player and have sucked, so thanks for nothing,” said Ruscin. “Secondly, as a rental player, you do not get to come in here and criticize this fan base, you stupid ass. Not a chance. The question was about the entire team, and you used the entire answer to take a swing at this fan base. You’re a disgrace, Michael Turner. You’re a disgrace! You should not get to wear that uniform again. What a loser. You know why they’re losing, because you’re a loser, and you’re the catcher. You’re in charge of this whole thing on the infield. You’re a loser and a disgrace. And you can’t get out of this program soon enough.”
Taylor’s crime may have been being a bit too honest (Twitter does indeed suck and some fans most certainly suck too) but the reaction by Ruscin, to call him a “loser” and a “disgrace” because the team lost a couple of games, is a bit much, especially considering we’re talking about a college athlete.
The radio host will get a chance to listen and learn as he’s “taking time away from his afternoon role on ESPN Arkansas stations,” according to a statement released on Sunday by ESPN Arkansas market manager Tommy Craft.
Statement from ESPN Arkansas market manager @tommycraftespn pic.twitter.com/mIRLWIpW6O
— ESPN Arkansas & HitThatLine.com (@HitThatLineAR) May 29, 2022
“[Ruscin’s] comments during Friday’s show concerning Michael Turner went too far and did not meet our companies’ standard for quality content,” wrote Craft. “We will further deal with this matter internally moving forward.”
