Earlier today, an Atlanta sports radio station, 790 The Zone, thought it would be funny to make fun of former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason who suffers from the debilitating ALS. In this bit, they had a mock Gleason who has to use a computer to communicate, do “Knock, Knock” jokes and say he wanted to be smothered. How is that funny?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEYfakCgXW4&rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Audio comes courtesy of The Sports Hangover with Gus Kattengell of 106.1 The Ticket in New Orleans and thanks to Awful Announcing for obtaining the clip.
Needless to say, there were numerous complaints to the station after the bit aired. Management suspended the hosts and now after the audio has surfaced, the show called “Mayhem in the A.M.” has been taken off the air and subsequently has been terminated.
We have the statement from the station’s Vice President and General Manager.
Apology and Update Regarding This Morning’s Mayhem in the AM Program
“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.”
— Rick Mack, 790 The Zone Sr. VP & General Manager
Lincoln Financial owns the station and quickly took action. The hosts, Steak Shapiro, Chris Dimino and Nick Cellini, most likely won’t be working in the Atlanta market for a while.
