Rugby coach Rob Penney didn’t appreciate the line of questioning he received during a recent media session, prompting him to call the journalist an extremely vulgar term.
Penney is nearing the end of a brutal first season as head coach of the Crusaders, a New Zealand rugby team based in Christchurch. With a record of 2-10, tensions are likely running high for the rugby coach. And that was exemplified Wednesday, when Penney was caught on a hot mic expressing his disdain for a reporter who asked seemingly reasonable questions considering the current state of the Crusaders.
“How are the players feeling about your performance as coach? Have you had much feedback?” the journalist asked, leading to further questions of “What have they said to you?” and “Do they support you as coach?”
Penney didn’t appear to appreciate the line of questions even while the cameras were running and the mics were on. But even though his responses were curt, they were reasonable for a coach in his situation. And once Penney thought he was off-mic, the clearly frustrated coach confirmed he didn’t like the reporter’s questions.
“He’s a disgrace that c**t. Who’s he?” Cameras caught Penney asking after the media session was over.
Penney made the comment privately and didn’t intend for it to be picked up by a nearby hot mic. But here’s a PSA: don’t call people bad names. And if you can’t help from calling a person a bad name, definitely don’t do it next to a line of microphones and cameras that were just recording your press conference. Unless of course, you wanted everyone to know you called that person a bad word.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com