BRISTOL, Conn., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- ESPN sportscaster Ron Franklin, yanked from calling Saturday's Fiesta Bowl, apologized Monday for alleged sexist comments made to a colleague.
Franklin was scheduled to do the play-by-play of the Fiesta Bowl on ESPN Radio but network officials told SI.com he had been pulled from the broadcast.
The move came after the Web site SportsbyBrooks reported Franklin had drawn the wrath of the broadcaster for allegedly referring to colleague Jeannine Edwards as "sweet cakes" and an "a--hole" before the start of a meeting with Florida State coaches Friday before the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
"I said some things I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry," Franklin said in a statement issued by ESPN. "I deserved to be taken off the Fiesta Bowl."
The network said it has replaced Franklin with Dave Lamont.
"We made a late play-by-play change to the Fiesta Bowl radio team," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told SI.com. "We're not going to get into specifics other than to say adhering to our personal conduct policies and showing respect for colleagues are of the utmost importance to our company and we take them extremely seriously."
