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Joe Buck Responds to Out-of-Nowhere Criticism From Bears Owner

At this point in his career, Joe Buck takes it all in stride.

Tyler Lauletta

Joe Buck speaks with the media during Fox Sports media day at the Miami Beach convention center.
Joe Buck speaks with the media during Fox Sports media day at the Miami Beach convention center. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
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Joe Buck is no stranger to haters.

The veteran play-by-play man has gotten more than his fair share of criticism over the years, but has ridden the wave for long enough that he is now a beloved elder statesman of the form.

That doesn’t mean he still doesn’t get some haters though—including some in very high places.

Earlier this year, when the Chicago Bears announced the hiring of Ben Johnson as the team’s new head coach, team owner George McCaskey took a shot in Buck’s direction that came out of nowhere.

When asked for his feelings on Tom Brady—now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders—being on the broadcast for a playoff game, McCaskey fired a stray shot at Buck.

"I don't care who they put on,” McCaskey said. “When Joe Buck is on, I turn the sound down.”

The comment earned some laughs at the time, and this week, Buck made clear that there was no ill will after the jest.

"It's all good. I was okay. I did not cry myself to sleep,” Buck told 670 The Score while delicately dancing around the specifics of the moment. “I took it as a badge of honor... He and 30% of the other viewers... That he came up with my name makes me happy."

Again, Buck has had plenty of haters over the course of his long career. By this point, it’s water off a duck’s back.

That said, should Monday Night Football schedule any Bears games this year, viewers might want to pay an extra bit of attention to see of Buck decides to take a subtle shot back in McCaskey’s direction.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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