Chris Russo has had a rough year when it comes to pronouncing names. But his latest flub is undeniably his worst.
In recent months, Russo has failed to pronounce the name of Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella, and even the last name of his SiriusXM co-worker Damon Amendolara, who he has known for over two decades. But his latest pronunciation flub is easily the most baffling.
On Friday, Russo was discussing Thursday night’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden when he attempted to pronounce the first name of former United States President Barack Obama, who served as president from 2008 to 2016. It went worse than you could possibly imagine.
Barack Obama was the President of the United States for eight years.
Here is how Chris “Mad Dog” Russo just pronounced his name. Twice.
This. This is the all timer. pic.twitter.com/XyxQLOJprE
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 28, 2024
Russo’s first attempt at pronouncing “Barack” came out sounding like “barracks” – the buildings that house soldiers. Presumably knowing this was nowhere close to the correct pronunciation, Russo tried again, but it somehow got worse as his next attempt was “baa-rick.”
Struggling with the names of various sports figures and personalities is one thing, but completely mispronouncing the rather simple name of a guy who was the President of the United States for eight years is a whole new level.
Perhaps Russo should stick to simply “Obama” next time.
