Houston Fox Station Ticker: Tony Romo 'Still The Gayest Player On The Cowgirls'

Less than a day after the Dallas Cowboys signed Michael Sam to their practice squad, a Houston-area news station is under fire for airing a gay joke.

The joke, which ran along a news ticker on the bottom of the screen, targeted Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo: "Michael Sam signed to join Cowboys? Tony Romo, still the gayest player on the cowgirls."

Really:

Busted Coverage tracked down a tweet with the exact same language, which had a timestamp that predates the broadcast by several hours. As such, it's possible the joke didn't originate with the station, but was submitted ahead of time by a viewer for inclusion in the show.

It's unclear who ultimately signed off on the language, which according to the station is broadcast to "a large, diverse population of the Houston area."

The Huffington Post contacted Fox26 for comment but didn't receive an immediate response.

Sam, who is the first openly gay player ever to be drafted into the NFL, joined the Cowboys practice squad after being cut by the St. Louis Rams.