Tiffany Cross, the host of MSNBC‘s The Cross Connection, was slammed by podcaster Megyn Kelly because of her opinion on injuries and racism in the NFL. On Kelly’s Sirus XM podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, she called Cross a “moron” and “dumbass.” She also said Cross is “the most racist person on television.”
The accusations came after Cross commented on how the NFL addressed the injury of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
According to the New York Post, Tagovailoa was allowed to play in the Sept. 29 game between the Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals, which was days after he sustained a concussion. Tagovailoa was carried from the field after he was slammed to the ground during the game. He remained down for more than seven minutes. Tagovailoa appeared to display signs of decorticate posturing while on the ground, with his fingers frozen in front of his face, Insider reports. He experienced two concussions in five days, People reports.
The following Wednesday, Cross invited sports reporter Michael Smith on her show to discuss health and injury protocols after the player’s continuous injuries were glazed over. Smith stated that, in his opinion, the NFL is “hesitant to change protocols because it may have to come with an admission that Tua Tagovailoa was mishandled.”
Cross saw a larger problem with the controversy, and she suggested that race was the main concern in her analysis. She claimed there is a “disregard” for Black lives in the sports league.
“To see all these Black men crashing into each other with a bunch of white owners, white coaches, and the complete disregard for Black bodies and Black life. I mean, it just represents a larger issue,” she said.
While Cross never referred to Tagovailoa as Black, her statement seemed to trigger Kelly.
On her Oct. 11 broadcast, the former Fox and NBC anchor called Cross’s comments “stunningly racist.”
“He’s not Black. Hello? You dumbass, Tiffany Cross,” Kelly said. “She’s the most racist person on television. It’s amazing. Maybe she just doesn’t see color.”
“Anyway, he’s not Black, but according to her, he is,” she continued.
Kelly also referred to Mike McDaniel, the Dolphin’s new head coach, in her argument.
“Oh, and by the way, his coach isn’t white either,” Kelly said.
According to Zippia, in 2020, 69.4% of National Football League players were of color. 57.5% of players identify as Black or African-American, 24.9% White, 0.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% Asian, 1.6% Pacific Islander, and 0.2% American Indian. 9.4% of players identified as two or more races.
This is not the first time Cross and Kelly have had a run-in.
Cross had words for Kelly when she accused Naomi Osaka of not being genuine when the tennis star appeared on the covers of multiple magazines after citing her mental health as the reason for pulling out of Wimbledon.
