ESPN's Ron Franklin Sacked from Fiesta Bowl after Calling Jeannine Edwards "Sweetcakes," "A--hole"

ESPN broadcaster Ron Franklin was pulled off play-by-play duties for Saturday's Fiesta Bowl after allegedly calling colleague Jeannine Edwards "sweetcakes" and an "a--hole" during an earlier production meeting, according to several media reports.

Sportsbybrooks.com reported that during a Friday meeting, Franklin called Edwards, the sideline reporter on his broadcast team, "sweetcakes," after she interjected a comment in a conversation he was having with another announcer. After she objected to his language, he allegedly said "OK, then, a--hole," according to the report.

Because they couldn't find a replacement for Franklin before Friday's Chick-fil-A-Bowl, he announced the game - with Edwards as part of the team - without incident.

However, before Saturday's game, ESPN removed him from the broadcast. After the reports on the flap surfaced, ESPN released a statement to Sportsbybrooks:

"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."