Iowa’s play-by-play radio announcer suspended for two games after critical comments caught on hot mic

An Iowa Hawkeyes broadcaster got burned by a hot mic.

Gary Dolphin, who has been the men’s basketball team’s play-by-play radio announcer for 22 seasons, has been suspended for two games for being critical of the team in comments inadvertently made on the air during what was supposed to be a commercial break.

In those comments, Dolphin singled out junior guard Maishe Dailey.

“Gary knows we are extremely disappointed in the comment he made about Maishe Dailey and the impact his remark had on our players and staff,” Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said Wednesday in a statement. “The two-game suspension is a result of those comments, as well as some ongoing tensions that have built up over the past couple of years.”

Dolphin’s comments were made Tuesday during Iowa’s game against Pittsburgh. He didn’t seem to realize the microphones were still on at halftime as he negatively compared Iowa’s players to those of the Panthers.

“How do we not get anybody like that?” Dolphin told broadcast partner Bobby Hansen. “It’s just year after year after year. Go get a key piece like that. Just get one! They’ve got three or four.”

Dolphin continued: “We get Maishe Dailey. Dribbles into a double-team with his head down.”

He then adds a disgusted-sounding, drawn-out, “God!”

The comments made it onto the broadcast due to a “technical error,” according to Learfield Sports Properties, which broadcasts the university’s sporting events and issued Dolphin’s suspension.

Dolphin addressed his comments when talking to reporters after the game, a 69-68 Iowa win.

“We want them to win so bad [that] sometimes we get frustrated when they’re not playing well in certain stretches,” he said. “... Whatever I said, I said. We apologized for it [on air]. I’ll move on and deal with it.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii