Head coach John Harbaugh was understandably in a good mood following the 21-7 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday, but the Ravens werenโt happy that CBS aired his post-game comments referencing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
โThat team beat us last week,โ Harbaugh said to his team in the locker room at M&T Bank Stadium moments after the win. โThen, they went and got their ass kicked this week.โ
The remarks were unlikely to raise too many eyebrows anyway after the Steelers laid a colossal egg in a 20-13 loss to the hapless New York Jets, but the Ravens issued a statement explaining how that part of Harbaughโs speech was not approved for TV viewing.
Ironically, the video didnโt appear to go viral until after the Ravens drew attention to the gaffe with their statement.
โThe comments made by John Harbaugh in the locker room following todayโs victory over the Titans were meant for Ravens players and coaches only,โ senior vice president of public and community relations Kevin Byrne said. โThe CBS-TV crew that was in the locker room was told by coach Harbaugh that it could not broadcast what he was about to say. When coach Harbaugh finished talking about various things happening around the NFL and in the AFC North, he told the crew that it could now use what he was going to say. Inexplicably, CBS-TV then aired comments coach Harbaugh specifically said were not to leave the locker room. CBS-TV immediately pulled the video and apologized to the Ravens.โ
Truthfully, those taking offense to Harbaughโs comments are only showing a lack of experience in post-game locker room settings โ at any level โ that are often emotional and oozing with testosterone. Harbaugh and the Ravens were fully aware that they were embarrassed by Pittsburgh a week earlier, but that wasnโt going to stop them from reveling in a division rivalโs loss on the same day that they won. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his team would have every right to do the same โ and undoubtedly have done so โ whenever the roles are flipped.
CBS issued its own statement reiterating that the network had made a mistake in airing Harbaughโs comments that can be seen in part below.
โWe broadcast a clip during our postgame show that should not have aired,โ CBS spokesperson Jennifer Sabatelle said. โWe immediately pulled it down and called the Baltimore Ravens to apologize.โ

Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
Podcast Audio Vault
Share the Post:
Right Now in Baltimore
Twelve Orioles Thoughts following series loss in Arizona
Luke Jones offers his latest orange musings after Baltimore's slow start continued in Arizona.
The arms race and throwing light on pitchers and injuries
Three decades ago, Mark Mussina did sports radio here in Baltimore when his brother pitched for the Orioles and always returns to Nestor with wisdom from Montoursville, Pennsylvania, where baseball runs in the family and the real business of sportsโฆ
As Rubenstein hands out more money, where is MLB getting it from in Baltimore?
Barry Bloom of Sportico has spent five decades chronicling the history of labor and ownership in Major League Baseball and shares the financial concerns and strategic challenges facing the sport. He joins Nestor to discus new media, an aging fanโฆ