A TV sports anchor in Nashville paid homage to the passing of Prince by infusing the music icon’s lyrics into a recent broadcast.
Unfortunately, the on-air tribute apparently cost him his job.
The Tennessean reports that WZTV Fox-17 sports anchor Dan Phillips incorporated well-known Prince lyrics into a sports broadcast on April 21, the day Prince died.
Phillips began the report, quoting Prince’s hit song “Let’s Go Crazy” before segueing into highlights of the hometown Nashville Predators.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get though this thing called life. An electric word, life, but I’m here to tell you there’s something else – the NHL playoffs,” Phillips began, before continuing his report, fusing sports highlights with many more Prince snippets, including lyrics from “When Doves Cry” and “Party Like It’s 1999.”
In a Facebook post, Phillips says he was subsequently let go by the station:
First of all, I want to thank everyone for the kind words, comments and positive feedback on this tribute I did to Prince last week. It really means a lot.
Unfortunately, there were apparently some viewers, as well as management at the station, who did not feel the same way. They felt I was insensitive. And as a result, I was terminated today.
I’m choosing to use this as a catalyst for some exciting things I’ve been working on for some time now. I’ll have many more details on this in coming days.
For now, thanks again for all of your support. And if you need an old, washed-up sports guy for anything, please let me know!
WZTV did not immediately returned calls from the Tennessean seeking comment.
