Talk show host fired after on-air racial slur

Saint Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 03/22/2006 | Jake Wagman

[cardinal4]

A radio personality at 550 KTRS was fired on the spot this morning after using the word “coon” on the air in a conversation about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Dave Lenihan was dismissed after what he called an inadvertent slip of the tongue. Within 20 minutes, station CEO Tim Dorsey apologized on the air to listeners and announced that Lenihan, who had been with the station for less than two weeks, had been let go.

“I don’t know what was in Mr. Lenihan’s mind,” Dorsey said in an interview. “I know what I heard. I know it was reprehensible.”

Lenihan’s comment was made during a discussion about Rice’s credentials to become commissioner of the National Football League, a topic that has been fodder for sports talk radio since the current commissioner announced he would retire later this year.

Lenihan was listing what assets Rice could bring to the league, including her tenure as a top academic officer at Stanford University and the fact that she is African-American.

“She’s just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such serious skill,” Linehan said on the air. “She loves football, she’s African-American, which would kind of be a big coon, a big coon – oh my God, I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that, OK? I didn’t mean that. That was just a slip of the tongue.” Lenihan later said he meant to use the word "coup."

Reached at home, Lenihan said he was still trying to figure out what happened, and was drafting a letter of apology to Rice.

"I was trying to say 'quite a coup' but it came out 'coon,"' he said. "I caught myself and apologized. It wasn't anything I was meaning to say. I never use that word.

[cardinal4]

The other thread was pulled due to no link..

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Not that big of a deal. People are overreacting as if he meant to say it. Within the context...it's nothing. How stupid.

[cardinal4]

Driving home this afternoon, KMOX had a blurb about it, but said nothing of the host's side. It does seem to be an accident, but in todays PC world..

[tomnbeverly]

That is really nothing compared to what the Liberals say about her...

[hoosierham]

Don't you know white men are to be shot (or at least fired) if anyone else wants to feel offended?The converse of course is not true.

[DoughtyOne]

If he caught it and appoligied profusely immediately and didn't intend to use the word in the first place, I think the station over-reacted.

This guy doesn't sound like the type that would use the word on purpose, or he wouldn't have reacted as he did.

I don't know the guy. Perhaps this plays into other things he's done. I just don't know. If this is it, and he's an otherwise good host, I'd let him come back and chalk it up to an inadvertent error and a misunderstanding.

[msnimje]

Is that the thinking behind this photo which appeared in USA Today??

[cardinal4]

Im surprised they even acknowledged it. As you say, MSM has been very histile to her. Just like Steele, Blackwell, and Colin Powell..

[Michael.SF.]

This is just plain PC run amuck. It was a slip of the lip. BFD.

[spinestein]

[“She’s just got a patent resume, of somebody that’s got such serious skill,” Linehan said on the air. “She loves football, she’s African-American, which would kind of be a big coon, a big coon – oh my God, I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that, OK? I didn’t mean that. That was just a slip of the tongue.” Lenihan later said he meant to use the word "coup."]



I don't know anything about this DJ, but from the context of this quote it appears that this was just an accident.

Still, in the radio business, as a professional such errors are unacceptable.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Firing him was stupid. He caught himself and profusely apologized right on the spot.

[cardinal4]

Still, in the radio business, as a professional such errors are unacceptable.

Yeah, just ask Doug Tracht, aka "The Greaseman..!"

[cardinal4]

The station wrested the Cardinals contract from KMOX who had it for years. Im sure that had something to do with it..

[michigander]

PCism run amok... As an aside, when is anyone worried about a (potential) racial slur directed at a republican?

[Philistone]

Yeah. I keep hoping that one day Wolf Blitzer will have to talk about "Niger" or "Nigeria"...

[rickmichaels]

Lenihan’s comment was made during a discussion about Rice’s credentials to become commissioner of the National Football League...

She has the credentials to be elected POTUS, IMHO.

[Kieri]

It wouldn't surprise me if Condi wrote a letter in support of this talker. Like others in this thread have said, it looks like a definite slip of the tongue. He immediately realized his mistake and apologized.

[BigSkyFreeper]

There's a distinct difference between it being an error and "business as usual". The host of "Sly In The Morning" on 1670 AM WTDY in Madison, WI caused some furor over racist comments he made about Rice a couple years ago, and it was not an accident. Of course, he tries to fool his audience into thinking he's an independent, but he's not. He's a flaming liberal. So is his goofball stand-in.

I don't believe he's apologized for it either. He spent the entire time it was in the national spotlight weaseling his way around the whole issue by blaming everyone else but himself. Typical of all liberals.

[YOUGOTIT]

And what of the comments by the newspaper left-wing cartoonist and their other racist friends? Were they fired for racial slurs or were they just patted on the back and told to continue to degrade anyone who is black and a Republican.