Boston sports talk radio host Tony Massarotti has been suspended from his show after making a racially-insensitive comment last week.
Massarotti’s co-host on 98.5 the Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz,” Mike Felger, announced the statement on Tuesday, announcing that Massarotti would be suspended through the rest of the week without pay.
“We all feel really bad about this, starting with the fact it was said in the first place,” Felger said, referencing men seen behind Felger. “Minorities in this country do have to put up with a lot of crap, and comments like that just make it harder for them and we apologize for that.”
The comment last week came during a show where Felger was broadcasting from New Orleans.
“I wanna know who the two guys behind you are,” Massarotti asked. “They can’t hear us, right?”
“No, not you,” Felger said.
“Ok, so I would be careful if I were you because the last time you were around a couple guys like that, they stole your car,” Massarotti said.
Massarotti said in an apology on Monday that he was trying to make fun of Felger, who had his car stolen on a separate trip to New Orleans last fall.
“It didn’t come off that way,” Massarotti said. “It came off as something far broader and ignorant, and I’m regretful of that.”
“When we’re talking about these sorts of issues, there is a line somewhere and I can assure you I stand on the right side of it,” he continued.
The comment has been seen as racially incentive.
In his statement on Tuesday, Felger said the Sports Hub’s parent company, Beasley Media, “strives to create a diverse and inclusive workplace,” adding that “those comments went against its core values.”
In addition to Massarotti’s suspension, the statement Felger read said all on-air personalities at Beasley Media in Boston will undergo sensitivity training.
Felger also said he wishes he did more to intervene in the situation, saying the comments are not indicative of him, his co-hosts or their media group.
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