Radio host Peter Rosenberg is facing heavy backlash after suggesting that Texas teenager Karmelo Anthony should not have received such a harsh punishment in the killing of Austin Metcalf.
Speaking on “The Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show,” the ESPN and WWE personality questioned the broader instinct to pursue the toughest possible sentence for young offenders. “Why is the solution to all of these things, how badly can we punish the teenager who did it?” Rosenberg said, according to a post on X from Breitbart News.
Rosenberg said he understood the grief and anger felt by the Metcalf family, calling the case “an overall tragedy” and acknowledging that punishment was warranted.
He then asked whether the Metcalf family would truly benefit if Anthony were given the maximum possible penalty. Rosenberg, a former contributor to “The Michael Kay Show,” framed the issue as a broader question about justice and punishment.
Anthony, 19, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Metcalf during a dispute over seating at a high school track and field meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2, 2025.
He had faced the possibility of a life sentence, but the jury instead sentenced him to 35 years in prison.
He could be eligible for parole after serving 17 years behind bars.
Rosenberg’s comments on the case sparked immediate backlash on X, with one commenter saying: “What do you want to give Karmelo a medal for citizenship?”
Another person said, “He only got 35 years on a 99 year sentence he’s gonna be out for parole in his mid 30s.
“He didn’t get the book thrown at him get over yourselves.”
Someone else wrote, “Currently Karmelo Anthony can not stab anyone in the chest.
“That’s why he’s in jail, so others don’t get murdered by a man who has shown he can stab someone to death.”
At trial, the jury heard from students who were at the Kuykendall Stadium where the deadly altercation took place.
Metcalf had asked Anthony to move away from his team’s tent, but Anthony refused, prompting Metcalf to eventually shove Anthony, who pulled a folding knife out of his backpack and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest.
Anthony’s lawyers claimed at trial that the stabbing was in self-defense.
Anthony has filed a notice of appeal to overturn his conviction and sentence.
