'Hi Saban' Reporter Explains Her Viral Greeting

The former member of the Alabama Crimson Cabaret Dance Team responsible for making the "Hi, Saban" line go viral took some time to explain herself.

Until this week, a lot of sports fans likely had not heard of Raya Turner, now an anchor and reporter for D210 sports. That changed when she greeted accomplished Alabama football coach Nick Saban in a manner that at least one Alabama sports anchor found, well, annoying. Rather than call him "Coach" or even "Nick," Turner referred to Saban by his surname.

OutKick's Clint Lamb and Joe Kinsey each wrote about the whole thing in posts earlier this week, defending Turner and chastising Alabama-based sports anchor Rick Karle.

Kinsey made a valid point when he wrote the following:


"Never forget that media people, specifically the sports guys, tend to be the worst people you’d ever want to be around. They’re typically miserable humans who want you to be miserable right there with them. Sure, there are some gems floating around, but there are hundreds of Ricks with huge egos. If you ever want to see how important some of these people consider themselves, especially the Insiders®, watch how they act during Super Bowl week. It’s some of the best mall watching known to mankind."

Turner truly did nothing wrong and shouldn't have to explain herself. But she took the time out to do it anyway, joining the 3 Man Front podcast to try to put the whole subject to rest.

She hinted at making a mistake and mostly said she feels fortunate for the outpouring of support directed her way.

Overall, Turner was diplomatic and professional in her explanation, and you can listen to the entire podcast right here.

It was definitely a lot better than the reasons Karle gave for criticizing Turner. "At the Saban house, he’s always 'Coach Saban,'" Karle wrote.

Well, that is great, and there's nothing wrong with referring to a coach as a coach. But none of the rest of us live in Saban's house, so it's just fine if he's "Nick" or "Saban," too.

Written by
Sam Amico spent 15 years covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports and NBA.com, along with a few other spots, and currently runs his own basketball website on the side, FortyEightMinutes.com.