An old outtake shows ESPN's Chris Berman swearing up a blue streak

By JACKIE MAJERUS
BRISTOL – Thanks to the magic of YouTube, an off-air tirade by ESPN anchor Chris Berman is becoming a hot hit on the internet.
The video clip shows Berman sitting in his anchor's chair on the set of Monday Night Football, ranting for more than a full minute at and about unseen crew members who made the mistake of moving around the room while he is trying to work on camera.
The clip, most popularly known as "Chris Berman Goes Crazy," lasts a minute and 22 seconds. It was filmed in 2000 in an ESPN Zone restaurant in Baltimore during taping for ABC's Monday Night Football, according to ESPN Vice President Mike Soltys.
Soltys said the clip never aired.
There are many duplications of the same snippet of video, and together they've been viewed online more than 1.6 million times since it surfaced late last week. In it, Berman swears a blue streak, including saying "goddamn" twice and "Jesus" five times.
If anyone is the face of ESPN, it's Berman, known for his "catch phrases" and the nicknames he gives during his commentary. He's been an on-air personality almost since the company went on the air, and consequently, sports bloggers are making hay with the video.
"It's always fun to watch a big-name TV personality lose his cool off-the-air, when real emotions can come out," wrote blogger Mike Williams on his blog "Wireless Mike."
But Williams defended Berman's hissy fit, saying the TV personality wasn't out of line, given his job responsibilities and desire to get things right "without some behind the scenes grunt running in his field of vision."
Comments indicate that many viewers find Berman's outburst amusing.
"I know I can't stop watching it," reads a posting on Intentionalfoul.com. "While this little ditty will probably be short-lived on YouTube, it will probably go down as an instant classic. What we have is the Mount Rushmore of ESPN, Chris Berman, GOING OFF on some staffers who decided to walk in front of him during a taping."
At least one version of the clip is "mashed," which means other video is blended with the Berman clip to make it seem that the tantrum occurred on the air.
It did not, according to Soltys.
Asked how the clip surfaced last week after eight years – or ever got out of ESPN in the first place – Soltys said that was a "very good question," but that they didn't know.
As for the company's position on the Berman tape, Soltys said, "I don't have any comment on it. It's from eight years ago."
Christian activists who plan another protest outside ESPN on Monday point to the Berman tape as more proof of a "lack of sensitivity to persons of faith and a culture of religious intolerance," according to a press release sent out by the Christian Defense Coalition, led by the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, formerly pastor at Hillside Community Church in Bristol.
Soltys said diversity is important at ESPN. He said the company has programs to address various issues, including language.
"We will be emphasizing to employees the importance of using language that is appropriate to the workplace," said Soltys. "We will address these issues through our existing programs."Soltys said the company has received "a handful" of complaints about Berman's tirade

Click here to see Chris Berman's off-color rant (but don't click on it if you're offended by cursing).

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com