ESPN will air the remaining games of the Little League World Series with a five-second delay, after a player for the Staten Island team uttered the F-word that was picked up and aired clearly on a night primetime game.
The manager of the team, Nick Doscher, appeared to have then struck the player with his open hand, according to the Associated Press. The wire service said both the player and manager were reprimanded by the league.
Cable networks aren't subject to FCC fines for the use of indecent language (broadcast channels are). ESPN does not routinely use delay for sports broadcasts, except in special circumstances (when, for example, a coach has allowed ESPN to 'mike' a coach). Broadcast networks use some kind of delay, in the the wake of the Janet Jackson Super Bowl wardrobe "malfunction" in 2004 and various, stray vulgarities aired on live broadcasts that have resulted in FCC fines.
