ESPN anchor John Anderson issued a mea culpa on Tuesday ... after he made an on-air joke about the last name of an NHL player who's of First Nations descent.
Anderson cracked the quip during an episode of "SportsCenter" on Monday night ... when he was reading over highlights of the Las Vegas Golden Knights' playoff win over the Edmonton Oilers.
As LV defenseman Zach Whitecloud was putting a shot in the net on the screen, Anderson said, "Zach Whitecloud -- what kind of name is Whitecloud?