Anson Carter Goes Off on Michael Russo During TNT Broadcast

If you follow the Minnesota Wild in any meaningful way, you know who Michael Russo is. Formerly of the Star Tribune, Russo has covered the Wild since 2005 and was one of the first big name newspaper defectors to join The Athletic when it was being formed back in 2017. He’s not just well-known name around Minnesota hockey circles, however. Russo is one of the most respected hockey writers in the world.

Anson Carter is an NHL studio analyst for TNT and a former ten-year (’96-’06) veteran in the league. He moved around a lot throughout his National Hockey League tenure but had plenty of success, scoring 202 career goals and 421 points.

Carter vs Russo

For whatever reason, Carter isn’t a fan of the Minnesota Wild or their long-time beat writer. I’ll catch you up on where this feud started momentarily. But on Thursday while on national TV, Anson Carter went as far as blatantly suggesting that Michael Russo is racist.

Anson Carter goes in on @RussoHockey, this could go south fast pic.twitter.com/cU9ZnjnwsU

— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 10, 2022

“Apparently, I don’t watch games. So, stay on code, buddy. Lazy. Fans are saying that I have an ego, too? Ok, doesn’t he have an ego too for saying that he’s an authority on these things, talk? Honestly…

“It’s the wrong month. Stay on code. Please, stay on code because we know exactly what’s happening.”

Anson Carter – TNT Broadcast

If you listen until the very end of the video, as the host is trying to send the broadcast to commercial as quickly as possible, you can hear Carter say in the background, “…like he’s (Russo) the authority. Sounds all white to me.”

How Did We Get Here?

Where do these accusations of racism stem from? You’d think Russo must have done something pretty egregious if Carter is reacting this way, right? Wrong. He and Michael have been feuding for about a week now. But their (mostly) social media spat wasn’t based in race until last night’s “NHL on TNT” aired.

It started with Anson Carter calling Minnesota Wild fans (and reporters) out on Twitter. Russo responded to his tweet with a bunch of facts that made Carter look clueless on his knowledge of the Wild roster and how they’ve been playing. Apparently, that makes Russo a racist in the eyes of Anson Carter.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan