Orioles announcer Kevin Brown returns from unpopular ban for referencing team’s struggles against Rays… but says he and de facto owner John Angelos have ‘mutual respect’: ‘We are all good here in Birdland!’
Orioles announcer Kevin Brown is expected to return for Baltimore’s game against the Mariners tonight after being suspended last month for referencing to the team’s struggles against the Rays, avoiding a clash with team ownership in the process.
The 33-year-old infuriated de facto Orioles owner John Angelos after bringing up the Birds’ lack of success against the Rays at Tropicana Field in past seasons during the team’s last game of a four-game series in Tampa on July 23.
And after appearing on the team’s radiocast for it’s next matchup against the Phillies, Brown was never heard again…until now, as he opens up on his time away from the MLB franchise, claiming that he has no hard feelings for Angeles.
‘O’s fans – I’m a storyteller. And never want to be a part of the story,’ said Brown in a statement shared on his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. ‘The most compelling story in baseball right now is the story of the league-leading Baltimore Orioles – the best, most exciting young team in the American League.
‘Unfortunately, recent media reports have mischaracterized my relationship with my adopted hometown Orioles,’ he added.
‘The fact is that I have a wonderful relationship with the organization, and our ownership and front office has fully supported me since 2019 when I first came aboard.’
Orioles announcer Kevin Brown will return to broadcasting action against the Mariners tonight
‘I ask that everyone disregard the distracting noise of the past few days. I have worked closely with O’s SVP Greg Bader for the past four years, and John Angelos and I have a solid dialogue based on mutual respect. We are all good here in Birdland!
‘I am proud to be an Oriole and call Baltimore home, and there is no place in baseball I’d rather be now and for the long haul. Go O’s!’
It’s been widely said that Brown will read a statement during Friday’s broadcast in his comeback to the booth before the Orioles face the Mariners in Seattle, according to OutKick.
Brown’s time away from baseball provided the Orioles with some backlash regarding their decision to suspend the Syracuse graduate over relatively harmless comments.
The announced read out stats that featured in the team’s game notes for its MASN telecast of its July 23 game against the Rays, and the cable channel even had an accompanying graphic that read ‘Trop-ical Depression.’
The statistics proved the Orioles struggled to win in Tampa over the previous two seasons.
The Angelos family believed that the numbers made them look cheap, thus taking Brown off the air, according to The Athletic.
Announcers of other teams, including the Mets’ Gary Cohen and Yankees’ Michael Kay criticized the Orioles for their actions, a blip in an unexpected season full of overachievements.
In January, Orioles ownership was in turmoil after one of Angelos’ son, Louis, sued his chairman brother and his mother for ‘plundering’ tens of millions of dollars from their elderly father to buy a greater stake in the MLB franchise while shielding assets from creditors, according to an explosive court filing.
The allegations were made as part of an updated lawsuit against John and Georgia by Louis, who claims the pair ‘systematically drained’ a bank account that held more than $65 million, leaving about $400,000 as of several months ago.
The alleged plundering of the account occurred in the five years since Peter Angelos fell ill as a result of heart problems, according to the lawsuit obtained by the Baltimore Sun.