Posted on 03/22/2006 4:32:30 PM PST by ChessMan
DJ Fired For Calling Condoleezza Rice 'Coon'
POSTED: 6:47 pm EST March 22, 2006
ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis radio station quickly fired a talk show host for uttering a racial epithet as he talked about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on his morning show Wednesday.
Dave Lenihan apologized on the air immediately after making what he said was a slip of the tongue. KTRS president and general manager Tim Dorsey agreed the remark was accidental but said it was nonetheless "unacceptable, reprehensible and unforgivable."
Lenihan had been heaping praise on Rice, who has frequently said she aspires to run the NFL one day but has more recently ruled out seeking to replace retiring Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said on the air. "She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. 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."
He said he had meant to say "coup" instead of the racial slur.
KTRS listeners soon began calling the station to complain. Twenty minutes after the utterance, Dorsey went on the air to apologize to Rice and KTRS listeners.
"There can be no excuse for what was said," Dorsey said. "Dave Lenihan has been let go. ... There is enough hate. We certainly are not going to fan those flames."
NAACP chapter president Harold Crumpton commended Dorsey for his swift action.
Reached at home, Lenihan said he was still trying to figure out what happened and was drafting a letter of apology to Rice. He said he never uses the slur he uttered and thinks Rice is "a fantastic woman."
Lenihan, formerly a drive-time host at WGNU radio in St. Louis, had been at KTRS for less than two weeks.
"It was my dream job," he said. "Ratings were going well. It kind of stinks."
Wow...BIG Freudian slip. I believe he did mean to say coup, it doesn't make sense otherwise...if he had nothing but good things to say before. It happens all the time. Did Shepard Smith do something like this...he used a sexual term for something that sounded like it...I think it had to do with Clinton....I'm serious...anyone remember?
Good!
It appears to me he really made a slip of the tongue.
If his words are transcribed correctly, he apologized in the very next sentence. That word certainly doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence.
I think they over reacted. Should've let him grovel and apologize til the cows come home...but not fire him.
Not funny!
I hate to hear the n word too, and I've asked my black friend not to use it. He doesn't listen to me, lol.
...thinks Rice is "a fantastic woman.
Well, thats why he was let go!
NAACP chapter president Harold Crumpton commended Dorsey for his swift action
nuff said ......
Whattaya bet he's on Howard Stern or Opie and Anthony before the end of the week.
I never heard of that word as a racial epithet.
I never heard of that word as a racial epithet.
"Should've let him grovel and apologize til the cows come home...but not fire him."
It obviously wasn't deliberate. I hate all racial epithets, but I have to say I feel sorry for this guy. They should have done what you mentioned, not fired him. Maybe a suspension would have been more in order. I wonder what Condi would say about it?
I have.
As a Democrat, of course.
What happened to the other thread about this? I posted my shocked reaction and my reply isn't even in my "posted" file anymore - it was just a few minutes ago! I made two posts on that thread and they've vanished. How does that happen?
I'm still shocked and I still say the "mistake" or "slip" doesn't make any sense at all in the context of what the DJ was saying. DJs do things like that to get attention.
I don't know. Sucks to be him though. I've never called anyone a racial epithet at all, not even slip of the tongue. He's in the public eye and should watch himself.
See post 14.
I have heard it - it's an old southern term
I think the most memorable one had to do with "J-Lo" and "block" and having it come out blow job.
The headline is somewhat misleading. I think the man did intend to say "coup". I've been known to mispronounce a word or two in my time, but they don't usually become nasty words. The problem is that to condemn this man, we have to assume that he was thinking "coon" and trying or wanting not to say it. If he wasn't thinking it, then it is an unfortunate mistake.
This is an interesting issue. It would be nice to consolidate the comments to one thread.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.