Bill Walton gave a whole new meaning to "color" commentary with two bizarre comments during Thursday night's broadcast of a Pac-12 tournament game.
The former UCLA star and NBA Hall of Famer was calling the Washington-Oregon game on ESPN along with play-by-play man Dave Pasch. And it wasn't long before the outspoken Walton made a questionable remark about former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
During a clip showing all the Pac-12 school mascots emerging from a limo in Las Vegas, Pasch jokingly said, "I think Walton is somewhere in the middle of that thing."
To which Walton replied: "I was way in the back along with Ray Lewis."
The Ray Lewis line is a reference to a 2000 murder trial, during which blood stains from a murder victim were found in Lewis' rented limousine.
Making the joke all the more awkward is the fact that Lewis was just hired at ESPN.
Speaking of lines about ESPN colleagues, Walton also tried to make a joke referencing the Twitter suspension of the popular ESPN writer Bill Simmons. Walton had to go even further out of his way for this one.
After Walton paid a bizarre and out-of-place compliment to Southwest Airlines, Pasch said, "There are some other great airlines you might want to mention so you don't get in trouble."
A few seconds later, Walton responded with this comment: "If we're going to suspend Bill Simmons, anything is possible."
Even for Walton, a guy known for his off-color remarks, these two jokes were flat-out weird.
(H/T to Awful Announcing)
