Bill Walton had a night to remember Thursday while broadcasting the Oregon-Washington game for the Pac 12 Tournament. His quotes were so raw that his partner, Dave Pasch, twice said, “We’ll just dismiss that one.”
The first Walton situation (above) came out of commercial break when ESPN panned in on a limousine with the cheerleaders and mascots. Walton was quoted as saying about Ray Lewis, a new ESPN analyst, “I was in the back with Ray Lewis and it was ubelievable how much fun, oh my gosh, how many people were in there!”
Walton tasteless joke was referencing Lewis’ 2000 murder trial, in which a limo was the get-away car during the alleged murder.
Walton’s second unforgettable moment of the night was when he brought up Bill Simmons and his suspension from Twitter by ESPN, for criticizing Skip Bayless and ESPN’s show First Take.
There’s no denying that Walton is a talented announcer with a sharp wit, but these two liners may have crossed the line.