L.A. Clippers announcers apologise for mocking ex-NBA player who died in 2011

Robert Traylor, in action for the Charlotte Hornets in 2001, died in 2011. Photo /Getty

Monday's Clippers-Mavericks game created headlines when Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers called a late timeout and encouraged the home crowd to cheer for Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, who may be in his final NBA season.

Earlier in the game, Nowitzki was indirectly involved in another episode that caused ripples - and caused the Clippers' announcing team to apologise.

Longtime Clippers play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler and analyst Don MacLean were calling the game for Fox Sports Prime Ticket when they began to discuss the fact that Nowitzki, a 14-time All-Star widely considered the greatest European player in NBA history, arrived in Dallas via a 1998 draft-day trade that sent Robert "Tractor" Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Who's he playing for now?" Lawler asked of Traylor.

"The, uh, Detroit YMCA over-40 league," McLean responded, to Lawler's audible amusement.

The jokey exchange sparked outrage online as it was made known that Traylor died in May 2011 at age 34. The former Michigan Wolverines star, known for his hefty build and affable personality over seven NBA seasons, suffered an apparent heart attack while in Puerto Rico.

Later in the game, the pair addressed their comments, with Lawler saying, "I was wondering what Robert 'Tractor' Traylor was doing today - totally slipping my mind, and I guess Don's mind, that he passed away a couple of years ago. So, may he rest in peace, and our apologies."

"Yeah, apologies," said McLean. "I didn't realise that."

MacLean's career as an NBA player overlapped with that of Traylor; the UCLA product spent nine seasons in the league from 1992 to 2001. Lawler, 80, is in his 40th and final season broadcasting Clippers games, going back to when the franchise was based in San Diego.

In 2009, Lawler and analyst Michael Smith were suspended for a game by Fox Sports Prime Ticket after the network received complaints over a lighthearted exchange they had about an Iranian player, Hamed Haddadi of the Grizzlies. In an interview published earlier this week, Lawler said that punishment was "100 percent unwarranted."

"I pronounced Iran wrong," he said. "I did absolutely nothing wrong. One person wrote an email saying he was offended, and this was the same guy who came down and asked for an autograph and photo when the suspension was over."