Reactions Are Wild After Radio Announcer Brent Musburger Calls Bill Belichick a 'Grand Wizard'

John Newby

09/09/2019 06:59 pm EDT

When Antonio Brown forced his way out of Oakland to become a member of the New England Patriots, there were millions of wild reactions. Many were simply angry that he would betray the team that traded for him while others were almost impressed that he had pulled the strings like a true puppet master.

For radio announcer Brent Musburger, however, he was certainly upset at the latest changes in Brown's employment status. He tweeted about some "dude leaving Oakland in a hot air balloon" on Saturday and then later tried to provide more thoughts about this surprising departure. Unfortunately for the Raiders announcer, he made the mistake of sending out a tweet without some extra proofreading.

In this tweet, Musburger referred to Bill Belichick as a "Grand Wizard," which is a title historically associated with the Klu Klux Klan. David Duke is possibly the most famous man to have held this title, especially after Topher Grace portrayed him in 2018's BlacKkKlansman. And yet, Musburger did not consider the meaning of this title when he bestowed it upon the Patriots head coach and mastermind of six Super Bowl victories.

As expected, the reactions to Musburger's tweet were wild, to say the least. Some responded by starting arguments about the sensitive nature of modern society while others began pleading with the radio host to delete the tweet. Finally, there was a third group that simply opted to discuss classic wrestling managers.

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Brent Musburger may not have meant to reference the KKK when he called Bill Belichick a Grand Wizard, but the fact remains that this term has been tied to the racist organization for decades. One individual on Twitter even made sure to provide context for the radio announcer just to clear up any confusion. It's important to remember events from US history.

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Once again, those that follow Musburger on Twitter wanted clarification for his definition of Grand Wizard. Did he really mean to reference the KKK, or was this an accident? For some people on social media, the term has only been used to describe one person in history, and they believe that Musburger should be aware of this fact.

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Obviously, the term Grand Wizard has been used to describe a specific individual in US history, one that isn't a shining example of morals. However, there are many users on Twitter that actually think of something else entirely when they hear that term. As it turns out, there was a manager who also went by this name. The Grand Wizard was actually a former radio announcer named Ernie Roth who became the manager for The Sheik. This version of the Grand Wizard was known for his underhanded tactics and nearly inciting riots during events, per WWE's website.

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For fans of the Atlanta Falcons, the saying "28-3" still creates feelings of dread. This is a reminder of the score in Super Bowl LI prior to Tom Brady and the Patriots making a historic comeback to achieve victory in overtime. Those that adore the Falcons will never forgive Bill Belichick and co. for this loss, but that doesn't mean that they will be willing to refer to the head coach as a Grand Wizard.

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Fortunately for Brent Musburger, there were many fans on Twitter that didn't automatically think of racism or the KKK when reading his post. Instead, they simply thought of beloved figures from fiction. In this instance, Musburger could have been comparing the Patriots head coach to the man that ran Hogwarts.

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Brent Musburger is a longtime announcer and has been known for calling high-profile college football matchups, as well as Raiders games over the previous season. His voice has been tied to some iconic plays. Well, there are some on Twitter that want to try their hand at announcing, only they will be calling the play-by-play for the end of Musburger's Twitter account.

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Brent Musburger was simply trying to put some context to this Antonio Brown situation. In his eyes, the sky wasn't falling for the Oakland Raiders or the fans. In fact, he wanted to point out that brighter days could be ahead considering that Brown is known as someone that destroys franchises with ease. He could be doing the same thing to the Patriots that he did to the Steelers and Raiders. Still, his phrasing should be changed just a tad.

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While calling Bill Belichick a Grand Wizard was viewed overwhelmingly as a poor decision by Brent Musburger, there are many others that actually thought the description was quite fitting. After all, the Patriots do play in the Boston area, which is known to be a racist part of the country. Comedian Michael Che even referred to Boston as the "most racist" city that he has visited.

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Love or hate Bill Belichick, the majority of football fans that came across Brent Musburger's tweet had the same reaction – use a different description. Yes, the Patriots head coach has found ways to lead his team to victory using what can only be described as alchemy. Even in the 2008 season in which Matt Cassel served as the starter due to an injury to Tom Brady, the Patriots still managed to reach 11-5 on the year. If that's not magic, it's difficult to determine exactly what it is. Still, maybe it's time to find some different words when discussing Belichick.

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Obviously, Bill Belichick is someone that isn't known for his social media acumen. He has previously referred to the various platforms as "SnapFace" when joking with reporters and various television hosts. Ironically enough, the first use of this quote was in reference to Antonio Brown's antics. Still, it's unlikely that Belichick will remain unaware of Brent Musburger's tweet and description. How will the Patriots head coach respond?

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