While I’ve long felt Dave Johnson is not the greatest color commentator out there, during MASN’s July 21 broadcast of the Orioles vs. Guardians game (Orioles pitching battered again in 10-5 loss to Cleveland, July 21, 2025) there was an occurrence that made his skill as a broadcaster a secondary concern.

During the eighth inning of that game, with the Orioles losing 10-5, Johnson mentioned to play-by-play man Ben Wagner how difficult it has been for him to remember to call the Guardians by their new name. He then intentionally called the team the Indians a couple of times, which already felt uncomfortable enough, as there is a clear reason they’ve moved on from that name.

It’s what came next, though, that solidified that moment as another example of problematic sports broadcasting. Dave Johnson, on live television, thought it would be appropriate to make a stereotypical Native American “war whoop” noise.

There is an unfortunate historical culture in American sports of reducing Native Americans to caricatures. While efforts have been made to right this, such as the Guardians name change, this is certainly not an issue that we can consider rectified. Having broadcasters who think that making such a mockery of an already trampled-upon population is acceptable is not doing anything to move that culture in the right direction.

As a lifelong Orioles fan, it’s disappointing enough to watch their games this season already. The last thing an Orioles broadcast needs is an ugly reminder of the fact that caricaturing Native Americans can still go almost entirely overlooked and dismissed. The fact that this came from one of the team’s paid broadcasters paints the entire organization in a bad light.

While I assume Dave Johnson’s actions came from a place of ignorance more than one of malice, that only indicates a major piece of the problem. If Johnson doesn’t understand why doing such a thing is incredibly distasteful and potentially quite harmful — and assuming the Orioles organization views itself as a respectable part of our community — then steps must be taken to ensure similar incidents won’t happen again.

Garrett Doyle, Baltimore

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