Hornets announce broadcaster won't return after tweeting racial slur

The Charlotte Hornets will not retain a member of their radio broadcast team following his purportedly inadvertent use of a racial slur on Twitter last month, the team announced Thursday.

On Aug. 17, play-by-play announcer John Focke used the slur in place of "Nuggets" when tweeting, "Shot making in this Jazz-(N-word) game is awesome! Murray and Mitchell going back and forth what a game!"

Focke deleted the tweet and apologized, saying his use of the N-word was unintentional and a "horrific error." He was suspended indefinitely the next day.

In their statement, the Hornets thanked Focke for his contributions during the season but noted he won't return for the 2020-21 season due to a violation of the team's social media policy.