Savannah Bananas star falls hard on his face while attempting backflip live on CNN: 'Oh, Jesus'
A Savannah Banana just peeled off a bit of his face after a backflip gone wrong on a live CNN segment.
RobertAnthony Cruz — also known by the name Coach RAC when he performs on the field with the Harlem Globetrotters-style exhibition sports troupe — appeared Thursday morning on the CNN News Central program, where he attempted to vault backwards into the air and land on his feet.
Footage shared to social media (below) shows Cruz take his stance as anchor Kate Bolduan exclaims, "Oh, Jesus," just before he flips.
Cruz then jumps into the air and lands hard on his face, leading to a few moments of stunned silence while he collects himself, and broadcast journalist John Berman tries to recover the segment.
"That, what you just saw there, is a brand-new twist on America's favorite pastime," Berman says in the footage.
When reached, a CNN spokesperson tells Entertainment Weekly via email that they're "glad he's okay and taking it in such stride," as Cruz later posted a video explanation to his social media followers.
"Your boy's bouncing around the internet like a beach ball at a Nickelback concert," Cruz says in his video, in which he also reveals that he performed the segment on about four hours of sleep.
He added that he spent the last four days coaching baseball for around 500 kids in Houston, before boarding a plan to New York City at 2 a.m. in order to make the live appearance.
Cruz then elaborated on what happened leading up to the tumble.
"So, we're backstage, and they ask me, 'Hey, you got any tricks up your sleeve that you want to do while we're live on the show?'" and said that it was his decision to do the backflip, as he's performed the trick "tens of thousands" of times in the past — including during a recent ESPN appearance that saw him catch a football in the air while doing a backflip.
Cruz remembered sending the flip into the air, but "the next thing I know, I'm on the floor and I'm rattled," he explained.
"I was pretty confused. My mic pack fell out of my pocket, my shoe flew off of my foot. I don't even know how that happened. I feel bad for the news anchors because they just sat there like, Okay, we're not supposed to laugh, but oh my gosh, that was funny," Cruz observed. "They just had to carry on. I'm so sorry, you guys!"
Throughout the video, Cruz's lip appears bloody, which he said he also noticed shortly after he collided with the stage floor and wound up getting several stitches in his face.
"Then, I see the blood dripping down from my chin and my lips, and I'm like, Okay, never mind, this day is probably canned," Cruz said, adding that an on-set doctor helped clean him up. "Obviously, I'm embarrassed," he continued and said that he "lost where I was in the air" due to bright lighting on the set.
The Savannah Bananas are next set to perform a three-day set in Norfolk, Va., through July 26, before heading to Philadelphia for their next round of matches.
Watch Cruz discuss his fall on CNN in the video above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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