Case in point: three sports talk hosts on a
morning drive radio show in Atlanta do two minutes of a tasteless skit at the
expense of a former NFL player suffering from ALS (a/k/a Lou Gehrig’s Disease),
that horrible, incurable illness that slowly strips its victims of the ability
to move, swallow and, ultimately, breathe.
All three were summarily fired. In just two
mindless minutes, they might have dealt a death blow to their careers. And now they're all saying they're sorry. Sorry for what? The sick “bit” mocking former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason, or for their self-inflicted reputation
damage?
And instead of just drifting into the
shadows, giving this stupid antic time to drop out of the news, two of them
compounded the “crime.”
One, Steve “Steak” Shapiro, gave the story
extended life by appearing on CNN for a nearly 10 minute segment that included
an excerpt of the on-air bit. An edited portion of the interview is below,
minus a replay of what they did on their radio show. Shapiro, usually
self-assured, was visibly shaking, sweating, shrinking into himself.
Another, Nick Cellini, apparently
attempting to deflect this major embarrassment, was quoted saying their firing
was “a relief, really. That station is a sinking ship.” Nice, Nick. Dump on the
station. Does this mean the skit was pre-meditated? That you wanted to get
fired to put you out of your apparent misery at work? Have you thought about a
change in careers?
The given in today’s environment is that all
this has gone viral and will live on and on. The Internet assures that these
guys will never be able to outlive their thoughtless antic.
Of course, when you flub (perhaps too light
a description) like this, so publicly on the air, you’re doing the shooting at
your own foot. But, thanks to technology, you’re always on the record. It’s a
fact, albeit a sad one.
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1 comment:
Never having been on the "other" side of a broadcast mic, I can't fully appreciate the pressure of creating relevant, edgy content. At the same time, what surprised me about what happened- in addition to the obviously offending content of the skit- is that all 3 of the sportscasters are seasoned media guys. Each of them is independent and strong minded and one would think at least one of the guys would say: Wait a minute. Is this really a good idea?
Apparently not and this situation that has left no winners with the possible exception of the former Saint player mocked. He took the high road, accepted the apology of the three, and used it as a rallying cry for why the subject of his foundation deserves more awareness and needs more funding.
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