Is it really cool and hip to act like a complete lascivious, ignorant, pandering moron to jack up ratings on your talk radio show? Well, if it weren't for that philosophy, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck would be flipping burgers. Perhaps we wouldn't have had our fill of Don Imus. Those of you who didn't know Imus' identity over the past decades should know it by now.
For those who don't know, San Antonio now has its own "Imus-like" controversy. Long story short – Jeff Vexler and Walter Pasacrita do a weekday afternoon sports radio talk show on 760 AM locally. They're your two average schomoes flapping their lips in the airwaves, lacing their sports discussions with supposed jokes and quips related to women, beer, TV, politics and action flicks. Pasacrita himself is known for having bore a rather nasal voice in earlier years, which annoyed human and animal ears alike.
Vexler and Pasacrita are not unlike most other radio sports jocks, hoping to score some points and laughter at others' expense. This is, after all, sports talk. (See Jim Rome and JT the Brick.) It's all in the name of fun. But sometimes you step over the line without realizing it. Last week Vexler and Pasacrita must've done some illegal substances and were inspired to do an on-air parody.
The "script" must have had lame written all over it. The skit had one guy interviewing the other guy, pretending to be Denver Nuggets star Allen Iverson. The skit brimmed with stupidity and, worse, racial stereotypes. Like the pretend Iverson offering his "stash" (ahem)" to the Spurs. Or the pretend Iverson wanting to hit the Riverwalk in search of Mexican honies. Or the pretend Iverson shooting a gun into the air and acting non-apologetic as a bullet falls and hits a homeless man because, after all, the guy is an illegal alien.
Umm, okay, Wally and Jeffy. Sounds brilliant. Let's see if we can nail the movie rights to your skit! Wally and Jeffy thought the mock interview was hilarious. They were the only ones. The Spurs, rightly so, were horrified. So angered that the organization severed formal ties with the radio station and Coach Gregg Popovich would not go his weekly radio show there for the remainder of this postseason.
Here we are, a week later. Do we hear any apology or even mere mention of the situation by Vexler and Pasacrita. Nope. Not one bit on air or off. They're still doing their show as if nothing earth-shattering has happened. However, the producer that oversaw the skit, Eric Gray, got a pink slip. Perhaps more disturbing but not surprising, the corporate owner Clear Channel Communications has said very little on the entire matter. According to the Express-News, CCC did distribute an internal memo, disavowing "inappropriate content or language."
Meanwhile, KTKR radio management has apparently put a gag on Vexler, Pasacrita and practically everybody else there. Which doesn't help your public perception. Corporations big and small often speak of working with their communities, reaching out in good times and bad. Well, really, it's easy for a corporation to extol its successes in a press release. It's rather difficult to quell a firestorm.
Still, even a communications company such as Clear Channel should simply let Wally and Jeffy provide a short, simple apology and comment for their lack of judgment. Very simple stuff here. To pretend that nothing has happened only emboldens the perception that uncaring, unprofessional demagogues can use their airwaves as their own base of prejudice and extremely flawed attempts at edgy humor.
Is this like Imus calling the Rutgers women's hoops time "rough-looking" and "nappy-headed hos"? Not necessarily, but the point remains: Use better judgment, think before you speak or act and assess your talents before you make an ass out of yourself. And Clear Channel, don't cower behind the "we can't discuss personnel matters publicly"crap. It's already out in the public. Just save face. You'll do better with "your community" in the long run.
