TORONTO - TSN says it will no longer air public tweets during live coverage after the all-sports network accidentally carried an inflammatory and false post from a viewer about Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul, team captain Dion Phaneuf, and his wife during Monday's NHL trade deadline show.

A spokesman for TSN would not discuss how the offensive tweet, which ran on a live crawl at the bottom of the screen, made it to air.

But Greg McIsaac did say "going forward TSN will not be airing public tweets during our live broadcasts."

The network posted an apology immediately to Twitter and read an apology on the air Tuesday night.

TSN said the tweet was broadcast despite protocols to prevent unfounded and inappropriate social media posts from running on the air.

The lawyer representing Phaneuf, Cuthbert and Lupul said when offensive tweets are broadcast on reputable media outlets, they become much more harmful.

Bell Media Inc. is the parent company of TSN and CP24.