Watch Doug Gottlieb make co-hosts cringe with awkward diversity joke

Chris Strauss, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

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NCAA men's basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb certainly made quite a first impression as he joined co-hosts Greg Gumbel, Kenny Smith, Greg Anthony and Charles Barkley in studio for the CBS pregame show Thursday night.

Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a comfortable one.

Introduced by Gumbel, Gottlieb made an awkward diversity joke that left all four of his African-American co-hosts shaking their heads.

"Cream rising to the crop. I don't know why you guys asked me, I'm just here to bring diversity to the set here. Give the kind of white man's perspective on things from the point guard position."

While Anthony scowled and Gumbel looked away, Barkley and Smith awkwardly laughed, with Smith telling him "You're swimming hard, upstream I might add."

According to the Associated Press, Gottlieb issued a statement later Thursday night through CBS.

"It was not a smart thing to say and I apologize," he said.

At halftime of the Wichita State/La Salle game, though, Charles Barkley addressed the controversy by dismissing it. Barkley said that people "on Twitter" and other outlets needed to "get a life" in regards to Gottlieb's poor joke.

Check out some of the Twitter reaction to what he said.