Taylor Twellman cleared to return to Apple TV+ MLS broadcasts after 'altercation'
A soccer commentator who was alleged to instigate a physical altercation has been cleared to return to the broadcast booth.
Taylor Twellman missed the Nov. 9 call of Game 3 of the Miami-Atlanta series for Apple TV+ while MLS investigated a union grievance filed against Twellman by an audio technician. On Oct. 25, Twellman was alleged to have made physical contact with the man, one of four in the booth for the game between Inter Miami and Atlanta United.
“Following the Atlanta United at Inter Miami match on Oct. 25, a member of the production crew alleged that MLS Season Pass analyst Taylor Twellman made physical contact with him in the broadcast booth,” MLS wrote in a statement Friday. “Once Major League Soccer was made aware of the allegation, the League immediately opened a review of the allegation and Twellman was removed from his scheduled assignment on Nov. 9 while the review was ongoing. This process included interviews with individuals who were present in the commentary booth at the time of the incident.”
Ultimately, the contact was deemed "incidental."
“After this review, MLS determined that this was not a physical altercation, but that Twellman made incidental contact with the member of the production crew in an effort to communicate with him without audibly interrupting the live broadcast," the statement from MLS read.
Twellman declined comment to The Athletic, which first broke news of the story.
Twellman, 44, was an MVP with the MLS' New England Revolution and a standout forward for the U.S. Men's National Team before going into broadcasting.
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