NC State Commentator Gary Hahn Suspended for ‘Illegal Aliens’ in El Paso Remark

North Carolina State Wolfpack radio commentator Gary Hahn was suspended Friday for his on-air comments about “illegal aliens” in El Paso, Texas.

Hahn was performing play-by-play duties for the Duke’s Mayo Classic bowl game, which the North Carolina State Wolfpack lost 16-12 to the Maryland Terrapins in Charlotte on Friday, and provided an update to the score in the Sun Bowl game, played in El Paso, where he made a reference to the migrant border crisis in the region.

“Amongst all the illegal aliens down in El Paso, it’s UCLA 14 and Pittsburgh 6,” Hahn said before transitioning commentary to a sideline reporter.

Here's what got NCSU announcer Gary Hahn immediately and indefinitely suspended after today's broadcast: pic.twitter.com/4qkyQ1jzT2

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 30, 2022

After the game, Learfield Wolfpack Sports Network, Hahn’s employer, suspended him indefinitely for his comments.

“LEARFIELD has suspended Wolfpack Sports Network Play-by-Play announcer Gary Hahn from his agreement indefinitely following comments made during today’s Duke Mayo Bowl radio broadcast,” Kyle Winchester, general manager of the network, said in a statement to WRAL.

Hahn has been the radio voice for Wolfpack football and basketball games since 1990. Before moving to Raleigh, he had previously worked for the University of Louisville, Ohio State University, and the University of Alabama, and for NBC Radio Network New York City and WLWI-TV in Indianapolis.

Social media users mostly disapproved of Learfield’s decision to suspend the longtime announcer for his remarks.

“Where is the lie?” commented X Strategies Senior Digital Strategist Greg Price.

Where is the lie?https://t.co/xMemDi8kc5

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 30, 2022

“That’s really a BS reason to suspend anyone. He didn’t say anything things that aren’t true and there was no disparaging remarks made,” one user commented. “This woke crap has got to stop.”

“We have a border problem and many illegal aliens are in El Paso. What part is not a fact?” another user commented.

El Paso has been the center of the recent border crisis as over 10,000 migrants were released the week before Christmas from border patrol facilities and overwhelmed the city’s streets and shelters.

The crisis prompted the city to declare a “state of disaster” and seek assistance from state and federal officials to move the migrants into the United States interior and Mexico. Texas National Guard soldiers have started building razor wire fencing along the border.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.