Former MLB pitcher and current Atlanta Braves announcer CJ Nitkowski found himself in another viral controversy this week after awkward comments he made during the team’s Thursday game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Braves right fielder Eli White recently returned to the starting lineup after being placed on the paternity list, and, while expressing his joy for White’s newborn, Nitkowski used phrasing that raised the eyebrows of some viewers.
“Congratulations to Eli on (child) No. 3,” Nitkowski said. “I was trying to talk him into more kids already when we were in San Diego. Him and his wife they’re just such great people.
“I said, ‘We need more great people in this world. Some more Whites, the better off we’re going to be.’”
While Nitkowski was referring to White’s family name, that did not stop the internet from picking up on the unfortunate phrasing the Braves analyst used. The video went viral on the r/baseball Reddit page partly due to the announcer’s past on social media, as many users criticized Nitkowski.
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Back in 2018, Nitkowski was involved in Twitter drama when users spotted that he was following an account run by the “Proud Boys,” a far-right group that has been linked to white supremacy movements in the United States; the former pitcher also liked a post from the account.
During the 2018 controversy, Nitkowski, who was working for the Texas Rangers broadcast crew, denied knowing that the Proud Boys were a hate group, according to Awful Announcing.
“I have never seen anything from that account that suggested they were a hate group,” Nitkowski said in 2018. “If I did, I wouldn’t follow them or any account. If a group wants to label a Twitter account a hate group, they can certainly do that, but their opinion means nothing to me.
“I think for myself. The idea that anyone would get upset over a tweet liked by someone they don’t know is now the most ludicrous thing Twitter has to offer us.”
The Proud Boys have been in the news a lot during Donald Trump’s two terms as president. Members linked to the group were prosecuted and sentenced to prison for their involvement in the Jan. 6 capitol riots in 2021, although Trump issued many of them a pardon when he returned to the White House in 2025.
After the backlash to his Twitter activity in 2018, Nitkowski later unfollowed the Proud Boys and called it a mistake. He also took a break from using the social media platform.
It is unlikely that will be necessary this time around, but it is another reminder to be careful about what, and in some cases how, you say something on live TV.
