On Monday night, broadcasters for the Clippers made the slight mistake of burning a dead guy after briefly (or, hopefully?) forgetting he was dead. The joke came in the first quarter of the team's match-up against Dallas, when Ralph Lawler and Don MacLean referenced the lopsided trade in which the Bucks sent Robert 'Tractor' Traylor to the Mavericks in exchange for Dirk Nowtizki on Draft Day back in 1998.
Noting that the Bucks really let one get away, MacLean said,"I guess Milwaukee didn’t see it either, they drafted [Nowitzki] and then traded him to Dallas draft day, for Robert 'Tractor' Traylor. Who’s he playing for now?" In response Lawler joked "The, uh, Detroit YMCA over-40 league." Cheapshot taken, everyone moved on.
At least temporarily.
Unfortunately, back in 2011, Traylor died of a heart attack in Puerto Rico, where he was playing at the time. That meant that Lawler and MacLean had to offer up an awkward apology to viewers whose eyebrows may or may not of raised when that slam was aired.
"We made light earlier that [Nowitzki] was traded from Milwaukee to Dallas in exchange for Robert “Tractor” Traylor," Lawler said. "I was wondering what Robert “Tractor” Traylor was doing today—totally slipping my mind and I guess Don’s mind that he passed away a couple of years ago. So, may he rest in peace and our apologies."
"Yeah, apologies. I didn’t realize that," MacLean added.
Lesson learned.
