(the bad news : look who’s back in NYC. the good news : if you’re Michael Kay, see below!)
Dear Justin,
It’s ok if I call you Justin, right? I feel like we sort of know each other, what with you being the program director of ESPN’s little engine that couldn’t, WEPN FM and me being an avid NY sports radio listener going back to the days of Art Rust Jr.
I know your job isn’t easy. Heck, faced with trying to not get blown out by the ratings juggernaut that is WFAN, I am certain you have much bigger fish to fry than any controversy over a matter as trivial as who hosts a Saturday evening fill-in slot during a national holiday.
Even so, I was mystified, stunned, even that an organizations as professional and normally not tone-deaf like Disney and ESPN would lend their airwaves, even briefly, to the fraudulent, multi-time loser otherwise known (when he’s not changing his name, anyway) as Dino Costa.
Justin, you work for the most powerful company in all of sports media. I believe the term, “Worldwide Leader” might even be trademarked somewhere. As such, I would think you or your someone under your supervision would be familiar with Costa’s track record. The homophobia. The racism. The baseless attacks on former employers. The sickening remarks about the President of the United States. The bogus Twitter follower drive. The investors left shaking their heads. The suggestions that massacres in Aurora, CO and Boston, MA might’ve been “false flags”. The nationally reported instances of plagiarism.
Was there no one else in the tri-state area capable of bringing such people skills to the table? Did you really have to go to Cheyenne, WY to secure the services of a broadcaster who describes the city of New York as “a shithole”? Or was John Rocker simply too expensive?
Listen, I’m not without empathy here. Given that numerous other outlets have given Costa a chance —— before inevitably finding out the only thing uglier than his collection of sleeveless tees is his poisonous worldview and personality — you’re not the first employer to make such a mistake.
Nor am I suggesting for a second that Costa ought to be denied the right to earn a living and put food on the table of his long-suffering family. And with that in mind, I am hoping you will reconsider the decision that led to you put Dino on the air, and instead find something for him to do that not only would enhance the work environment of your more accomplished broadcasters, but be truly in Costa’s personal wheelhouse.
But I don’t know how Michael Kay will feel about Costa preparing his daily chicken parm, even with the food truck pedigree.
a loyal fan of all things ESPN,
Gerard