If you have not heard by now, three veteran sports talk radio show hosts in Atlanta thought is was a good idea to do a skit on their show to mock a man who is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS – a disease that takes over your body where you are virtually helpless at the end. It’s one of those diseases that you would not wish upon anyone.
The man who was being made fun of is Steve Gleason, a former player for the New Orleans Saints who was a real thorn in the side of the Atlanta Falcons. Gleason does not have long to live. Unbelievable, the fact that his condition is terminal was part of the joke. One of the hosts impersonated Gleason to start a knock-knock joke, and another host responded, “Now, Steve, we do knock knocks on Thursdays, we don’t do it on Mondays.” The host impersonating Gleason responded, “I may not be here on Thursday.”
The station suspended the hosts and subsequently fired them. There is no place anywhere for such antics, and they got what they deserved.
The irony here is that one of the three hosts was at one time an owner of the sports talk radio station here in St. Louis, KFNS. Steve “Steak” Shapiro and his merry band of carpetbaggers nearly destroyed the station here. Chris Dimino was also involved in this episode. I knew him to be as hard-working and honest as any talk show host I have been around. Agree or disagree with him, it would be a good discussion. In this case, he went out with the bathwater. His career may be saved, as he has a lot of people who know he knows better.
When is enough enough? People in this business get fired everyday for something they said or did. Seldom do you hear of anything so insensitive and extreme where the owners of the station had no choice but to can these three. Off-color remarks, rants, yelling, screaming and personal attacks have supplanted sports discussion, analysis and just fun guy talk.
I was part of the first talk station that was run by recently retired Gateway Classic CEO Rich Gray. Never was there a better station in this market when it came to sports talk. It was a new concept and the talent had not grown into what some are today. There certainly was a sense of decorum that no longer exists. The format has since taken an interesting turn, for sure. For the worse? You be the judge.
Some people in this market get it and do good work. There are some who don’t, and you can tag them for whatever reason you disagree. The problem is not if you agree or disagree with a host. The problem is what has happened when a host becomes hateful, mean-spirited and just plain self-serving. Some people love to hate them so much they cannot stop listening. We all have done it at some point, but most move onto something more worthwhile.
Sadly, sports talk radio as we know it is gone, and I am not sure if it will ever come back. In some cases, that is good, because listeners are better informed in this digital age. What they choose to do with information is another subject entirely.
Jump shots and flops
These NBA Finals will not leave a mark on the game. Not that it has been poorly played, but aside from LeBron is there anyone you really perk up for?
Oh, you can be a fan of the “team” concept that the Spurs display and the notion that a guy who had been cut twice could have seven days of stardom and be the crowning moment. You even talk about Dwayne Wade rising from the dead for a week and helping his team, but after that we have a series where big men as we knew them are non-existent.
Dear Earl Austin Jr.: Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Akeem or even Patrick Ewing would make this a better series. Right now it’s a jump-shooting contest with a bit of flopping.
Did you here me, Manu Ginobli and Shane Battier? You too should be ashamed of yourselves if that is how you are able to survive in the NBA. It’s not like I am done with the NBA, but this Finals is not the one. Thank goodness for the NBA Documentary The Doctor. It is a documentary on one of the greatest to ever play the game, Julius Erving. It is far more exciting than the Finals. You can find it in NBA TV.
