Major League Soccer is investigating a claim that MLS Season Pass commentator Taylor Twellman was involved in a physical altercation with a production assistant earlier this month, multiple sources briefed on the incident and investigation told The Athletic this week. The alleged altercation led to his removal from color commentary duties this past weekend, according to those sources, who requested anonymity to preserve their relationships within the industry.
The alleged incident occurred around game one of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Atlanta United on October 25th. Twellman allegedly made physical contact with an audio engineer in the commentary booth. The audio technician, sources said, was working with Program Productions, a Miami-based production house brought in to assist with the match.
Sources involved in the production said the match was marred by audio difficulties, a recurring theme during the MLS partnership with Apple TV, which debuted during the 2023 season.
Twellman went on to call game two of the series alongside play-by-play commentator Jake Zivin on November 2 but was removed from last weekend’s deciding game three after the production assistant filed a union grievance regarding the incident, sources said. Long-time play-by-play personality Steve Cangialosi and color commentator Danny Higginbotham subsequently called the game. Miami, the Supporters’ Shield champions, were eliminated in that match.
Twellman previously called games for ESPN before joining MLS League Pass (Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
There is no video of the incident, sources said this week. While many live sports broadcasts feature a camera in the commentary booth, Apple TV’s MLS broadcasts never have. MLS Season Pass broadcasts in Spanish, English and French, and the complexity involved in simultaneously broadcasting all three of those products with a single video feed eliminates the possibility of using a camera in the commentary position.
One source briefed on the incident said that, aside from Zivin, Twellman and the audio producer who Twellman allegedly made contact with, there was only one other person present in the commentary booth.
Sources said Twellman is scheduled to call the Western Conference semifinal between LAFC and the Seattle Sounders on November 23.
Twellman declined to comment when reached Wednesday morning. Through a representative, MLS declined to comment, as did Apple TV. Program Productions did not respond to a request for comment.
Twellman is one of the highest-profile members of MLS’ commentary team. Before joining MLS Season Pass — the league’s broadcast package, which streams on Apple TV+ — Twellman was one of the primary voices of MLS coverage on ESPN, one of the league’s two previous national English-language broadcast partners.
A former MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner with the New England Revolution, Twellman is a familiar face to fans of the league and of the U.S. national team, which he featured for in the early and mid-2000s.
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(Top photo: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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