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KamaAina

(78,249 posts)
Mon Jun 17, 2013, 05:59 PM Jun 2013

You stay classy, Atlanta: Sports talk show hosts mock former Saints player who has ALS

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/atlanta-radio-hosts-suspended-making-fun-former-nfl-200559745.html

If you're the kind of nimrod who thinks it's humorous to make fun of people suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) -- a disease that mercilessly takes away nearly every bodily function most of us take for granted ... well, Atlanta radio "talent" Nick Cellini, Chris Dimino, and Steak Shapiro might be your kinds of guys.

For the rest of us, however, what these two chuckleheads did on their show Monday morning for the 790 The Zone station was outrageous, unprofessional, and most certainly fireable. After former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, penned a guest column for SI.com's Peter King that went up Monday morning (Gleason penned that column with his eyes, by the way), Cellini and Shapiro went on the air and made fun of Gleason. Yes, they did.

According to Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com, the hosts set up a skit in which they pretended that Gleason was a caller to the show and set up a fake caller with a robotic voice, because the disease has robbed Gleason of his ability to speak. They then wondered, on the air, whether Gleason would be alive by next week....

The station has suspended all three hosts indefinitely, which was announced by way of a boilerplate statement that isn't really worth re-running here. What Rick Mack, Senior VP and General Manager of the station, should be asking himself is why these two individuals still have jobs. As Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com so eloquently wrote today, the station needs to make this right by firing Cellini and Shapiro, reaching out to Gleason with a public and heartfelt apology (if they can muster one up), and making a sizable donation to Team Gleason, which Gleason and his family established to help others suffering from ALS. (You may do so here, if you would like).




Factoid: The Saints' bounty scandal came about because they granted access to filmmakers who were making a doco about Gleason.
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You stay classy, Atlanta: Sports talk show hosts mock former Saints player who has ALS (Original Post) KamaAina Jun 2013 OP
Just checked the AJC...the assholes got fired. RiffRandell Jun 2013 #1
Fortunately their stupidity only caused themselves to suffer mythology Jun 2013 #2

RiffRandell

(5,909 posts)
1. Just checked the AJC...the assholes got fired.
Mon Jun 17, 2013, 10:51 PM
Jun 2013

We deeply regret the offensive programming that aired this morning on “Mayhem In The AM” on 790 The Zone, related to former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason and his battle with ALS. We suspended the three individuals involved immediately following their comments and have since terminated their employment. 790 The Zone, our owners, sponsors and partners in no way endorse or support this kind of content. We sincerely apologize to Mr. Gleason, his family and all those touched by ALS."

More at link, which includes the "jokes".....so disgusting:

http://www.accessatlanta.com/weblogs/radio-tv-talk/2013/jun/17/790-zone-fires-mayhem-am/

 

mythology

(9,527 posts)
2. Fortunately their stupidity only caused themselves to suffer
Mon Jun 17, 2013, 10:59 PM
Jun 2013

I'm glad they were fired. Hopefully they can learn something from this experience.

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