The Atlanta Braves broadcast booth’s coverage quickly became rated R after commentator Brandon Gaudin made an on-air reference to the now-viral "Hawk Tuah" video.
During the Braves game against the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this week, cameras captured outfielder Alec Burleson spitting on himself after drilling a foul ball. Bally Sports South broadcaster C.J. Nitkowski immediately took note of the strange act, asking Gaudin: “You like that right there? Did you see that close up?”
In an attempt to explain the move, Nitkowski added: “He just spit on his shoulder. As he was sitting there and went to spit, a little humid out I guess, mouth getting a little bit dry, didn’t quite clear his arm and just landed right on the shoulder.”
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Sensing a prime opportunity to deliver a show-stopping one-liner, Gaudin promptly responded with “Hawk Tuah,” generating a chuckle from his colleague. The words were made popular by Nashville resident Hailey Welch, who delivered the advice in the bedroom after being asked by a YouTuber to describe “one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time.”
Fans online immediately shared their thoughts on Gaudin’s reference to the sexual innuendo. “Stay classy Saint Louis,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “Diabolical work from the announcers. Give them a raise immediately.”
Others heralded Gaudin for keeping up with the latest trends. “No one is better at their job than Brandon Gaudin,” one person wrote. “That’s why Brandon Gaudin is the goat,” someone else said.
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Gaudin is not the first person to find a way to tie "Hawk Tuah" in with baseball. Last week, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper performed the viral gesture while celebrating a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Over the last several days, “Hawk Tuah” has taken the world by storm, with social media users reposting, remixing and imitating the viral response on just about every platform.
“Something like this is like winning the lottery,” Talent manager Taylor Reilly told Yahoo Finance . “I guarantee you wouldn't be able to even fathom the full scope of how viral this is. If, when you take every platform on social media, and you add up all the views, it'll be in the billions.
“Like, this woman would probably be more viral than some of the biggest celebrities right now.”
It hasn’t taken long for Welch to capitalize on her five seconds of fame. The Nashville resident has launched merchandise with the clothing brand Flathead Threads, and signed hats with her signature one-liner that were going for $75 a pop have already sold out.
“Of course, she hasn’t gotten a dime from the first viral video that went out,” Flathead Threads owner Jason Poteete told Rolling Stone. “Nobody was asking permission for her to do nothing, neither. I just wanted her to get some profit off of this deal.
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